Business

ENGINE: Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

GOLA backlogs build amid weather disruptions; prompt supply tight in Panama; VLSFO supply tight in Rio de Janeiro.

Published

4 years ago

November 4, 2022

Admin

Resized Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook image for Manifold Times

The following article regarding bunker fuel availability in the Americas region has been provided by online marine fuel procurement platform ENGINE for post on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

3 November 2022

GOLA backlogs build amid weather disruptions
Prompt supply tight in Panama
VLSFO supply tight in Rio de Janeiro

North America

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is slightly tight for prompt dates in the Houston area and US Gulf Coast. But some suppliers can supply both grades for prompt deliveries.

Four suppliers can offer VLSFO and LSMGO for prompt dates in Bolivar Roads, while others have held back offers amid tight delivery schedules.

Prompt supply is tight in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) as some suppliers still work to clear bunker backlogs from multiple weather disruptions over the past week. The recommended lead time for VLSFO and LSMGO is about five days out.

The weather was calmer in GOLA on Thursday, but the intensity of winds and swells is expected to increase on Friday, which may cause another bunker delay or suspension. Suppliers in GOLA and in other lightering areas off the US Gulf Coast typically wait for rough weather to clear off before resuming any offers, sources say.

Suppliers’ earliest HSFO delivery dates are mostly subject to enquiry across US Gulf Coast and West Coast ports, sources say.

All grades remain tight for prompt dates in the twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles on the US West Coast. The majority of suppliers in both ports are booked up for prompt dates. Recommended lead times are around 10 days, but some suppliers can accommodate earlier stems.

LSMGO availability is tight for prompt dates in Baltimore. A supplier is running low on stock, while another requires four days of lead times.

Availability continues to be steady across all fuel grades in Mexico’s Manzanillo. Recommended lead times for HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO are about five days out, while prompt stems can be accommodated, sources say.

Caribbean and Latin America

All grades are tight for prompt dates in Panama’s Balboa and Cristobal. The earliest delivery dates for VLSFO and LSMGO with two suppliers in Balboa are about five days out, while another supplier requires seven days of lead time. Two other suppliers are unable to confirm their delivery dates due to tight availability.

Lead times can be longer in Cristobal than in Balboa due to limited product availability among suppliers, sources say.

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal in off Trinidad, where a supplier can offer both grades for prompt dates.

Hurricane Lisa, which hit the Caribbean Sea region this week, had a limited impact on bunkering in Jamaica’s Kingston. Several suppliers in Kingston resumed offers on Tuesday after the hurricane had passed. Recommended lead times for VLSFO in Kingston are about 3-5 days.

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal in Colombia’s Cartagena and Santa Marta. One supplier can supply for prompt dates in both ports, while another requires three days of lead time.

HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal in Peru’s Callao. A supplier can supply the grades for prompt dates.

VLSFO supply is tight in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro. A supplier can offer deliveries from 9 November onwards.

By Nithin Chandran

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 4 November, 2022

Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

Published

15 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Published

15 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

LNG Bunkering

PIL’s LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Published

15 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd on Monday (20 July) said its first 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessel, Kota Elok, recently made her maiden call to Singapore on 15 July.

As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post.

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024.

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026