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WISTA: ‘Education and awareness’ key towards narrowing gender gap in bunkering, shipping and trading sectors

‘Bunker barges operate in very local areas so these vessels call at port very often which means it will be a good fit for women with families,’ states Elpi Petraki, President of WISTA International.
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Minimising the existing gender gap in the bunkering, maritime, trading and logistics sectors can be made possible through education and awareness, believes the President of Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA).

“There is already a challenge of attracting talent into the maritime industry and we need to educate young people in schools on shipping industries,” Elpi Petraki told bunkering publication Manifold Times during an interview in London.

“Parents want their kids to be working in high paying jobs and the shipping industry also offers this possibility.

“You can be a maritime lawyer or a doctor or engineer supporting crew on board ships out at sea; these are also well-paying jobs which can be very interesting with the added benefit of travel around the world.

“The younger generation don’t see the gender gap we currently see so we must build on this to give opportunities for everybody.

“We have to talk outside the industry by heading to a wider audience including the mothers and fathers through raising awareness.”

A survey ‘Women in Maritime Survey 2021’ conducted between WISTA and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) highlighted the share of women on company boards within shipping’s subsectors – including the bunkering sector.

“We know there are several women especially in later times in their careers employed within the bunkering sector where they form part of the management,” Petraki pointed out.

Share of women on boards by sub sector

“However, we would like to see more ladies operating with the marine refuelling sector especially on [bunker] barges where it is currently almost non-existent,” she stated.

Petraki, who is also the Second Vice President of the Hellenic Short Sea Shipowners Association and Operations, Chartering & Business Development Manager of her family shipowner business ENEA Management, stressed working on bunker barges should firstly be safe for everybody.

“If it is dangerous for everybody why should it be a different danger for women or for men?,” she questioned.

“In fact, the introduction of technology on bunker barges/tankers means less manual labour is now required from its crew thereby benefitting ladies.

“Further, bunker barges operate in very local areas so these vessels call at port very often which means it will be a good fit for women with families.

“This is also the reason why coastal shipping, where vessels ply between regular routes, is also more attractive to ladies especially in Europe.

“The more women we have involved in shipping the more equal and diverse it can be.”

The ‘Women in Maritime Survey 2021’ launched on the first IMO International Day for Women in Maritime (18 May, 2021), was the first time real figures of gender diversity were collected for the shipping industry, noted Petraki.

“Before that, there were no real numbers for women working in the maritime sector,” she revealed.

“Data demonstrated women accounting for only 29% of the overall workforce in the general industry and 20% of the workforce of national maritime authorities in IMO Member States.

“It showed women being involved in many sectors of the shipping industry; especially working within ship owning companies and the legal sectors while contributing to the environmental sensitive side (i.e. ESG) of the maritime business.”

Share of women on boards by sub sector

“At WISTA, we aim to empower women to have better possibilities for growing their career through progressing into senior positions of every field of shipping and logistics,” shared Petraki.

“We want to do that by changing behaviours and educating people through continuous learning and acquisition of leadership skills.

“We have presence in 56 countries around the world with a growing membership of 4,000 people comprising not only women but also men as well.

“Shipping is widely known to be a very male dominated industry. To level the field and bring much-needed diversity to the sector, we want to attract women and support them to cover more managerial and board level positions.”

Note: The full 20-page Women in Maritime Survey 2021 is available for download through the WISTA website here.

 

Photo credit: WISTA, Women in Maritime Survey 2021
Published: 14 March, 2023

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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.

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RESIZED Sora Shimazaki on Pexels

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.

Related: Singapore: Hin Leong Founder OK Lim gets jail term slashed to 13.5 years

 

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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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.

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July 21, 2026

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RESIZED Drew Beamer

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.

Related: Singapore: Director declares Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping’s inability to continue business
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market

 

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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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.

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July 21, 2026

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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

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