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Argus Media: Japan’s bonded bunker fuel demand strengthens in March

Japan’s March bonded marine fuel sales hit 80,000 b/d for the first time in nearly 1½ years; last time sales reached around 80,000 b/d was in October 2021.

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Japan’s March bonded marine fuel sales hit 80,000 b/d for the first time in nearly 1½ years, aided by firmer demand from domestic shipowners.

12 May 2023

The March sales totalling 392,000 kilolitres (kl) were also up by 11.6pc on the year and by 14.3pc from 343,000 kl in February, according to the Petroleum Association of Japan. The last time sales reached around 80,000 b/d was in October 2021.

Stronger demand, partly from car carriers, contributed to the higher sales. Domestic carmakers tried to export as much as possible in March, the end of the 2022-2023 fiscal year, to be able to record a higher number of units sold.

Ample fuel availability also encouraged sales. Deliveries from Eneos were normal during the month, after the refiner limited very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) supplies in February because of lower stocks. Fellow refiner Idemitsu got back to full bunker delivery capacity at its 190,000 b/d Chiba plant after finishing flow meter maintenance.

Current VLSFO availability in the country is ample, but it may tighten in June-July because Eneos is carrying out a turnaround at its 145,000 b/d Sendai plant from the end of May to the end of July. Sendai is a key plant for VLSFO deliveries as it produces and distributes VLSFO components to its other refineries. The company is the largest marine fuel supplier in Japan, making up 55-60pc of the country’s total sales.

VLSFO deliveries from Eneos were extremely limited during April-May last year, as the Sendai refinery struggled to return to normal operations following an earthquake. The unplanned shutdown caused technical issues at the refinery even after it resumed operations.

Eneos will also halt refining operations at its 141,000 b/d Sakai plant from mid-May to mid-July, while it has shut its 129,000 b/d Chiba refinery for undisclosed reasons. Idemitsu is also having a scheduled maintenance at the Chiba refinery from 28 April.

By Maiko Nakashima

 

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 15 May, 2023

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidators of Nan Ho Maritime, Nan Xin Maritime issue notices of dividend

Nan Ho Maritime’s second interim dividend and Nan Xin Maritime’s second and final dividend are payable from 4 September, according to Government Gazette notices.

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Notices of dividend for Nan Ho Maritime Pte Ltd and Nan Xin Maritime Pte Ltd, which are currently in creditors’ voluntary liquidation, were published on the Government Gazette on Friday (4 September). 

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Ho Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Ho Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 200814315C
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 2.305 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second interim dividend
When Payable : 4 September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Xin Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Xin Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 201701966W
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 3.980 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second and final dividend
When Payable : 4th day of September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 7 September, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

Singapore-based EPS takes delivery of three LNG dual-fuel bulk carriers

Three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.

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Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) on Friday (4 September) announced the naming and delivery of three new LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carriers from China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding. 

Cyril Ducau, CEO of EPS, said the vessels were named Mount Victoria, Mount Yulong and Mount Wuyi

The three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.

“A big thank you to CSSC Group and Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, working alongside our EPS team, for the tremendous collaboration and commitment behind this achievement,” Ducau said in a social media post.  

 

Photo credit: Eastern Pacific Shipping
Published: 7 September, 2026

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Port & Regulatory

ISWG-GHG 22: IMO working group aims to present NZF text at MEPC 85

The Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85.

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The Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 22) met for its 22nd meeting from 1 to 4 September 2026, chaired by Mr. Sveinung Oftedal (Norway), according to the International Maritime Organization on Friday (4 September). 

According to a meeting summary by IMO, the meeting had a high level of participation, with nearly 1200 registered participants, in person and online.

During the meeting participants considered the following agenda items:

Consideration of proposals, including documents submitted to MEPC 84 and 85, previous sessions of ISWG-GHG, as well as documents submitted to ISWG-GHG 22, on how to address concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the Net-Zero Framework, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy

Following constructive discussions, the Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85 that adequately addresses the noted progress made in the consideration of proposals on how to address concerns raised regarding the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the mid-term measure.

The Group invited interested delegations to continue to consult intersessionally to address remaining concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, taking into account views expressed at the Group’s session, with a view to submitting concrete proposals reflecting enhanced convergence allowing timely adoption and effective implementation.

Further consideration of the draft guidelines supporting the uniform and effective implementation of IMO’s mid-term measures.

The Group held a preliminary exchange of views on this agenda item, although time became a limiting factor and the Group and agreed to defer the consideration of all documents submitted to this session under this agenda item to ISWG-GHG 23 (23-27 November 2026).

Further consideration of the development of the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework.

Due to time constraints, the Group was not able to consider the agenda item related to the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework. The Group deferred the consideration of those documents to ISWG-GHG 23, in conjunction with the report of the fourth meeting of the GESAMP-LCA Working Group expected to be submitted to MEPC 85.

Next steps

The next meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 23) is scheduled for 23 to 27 November 2026, ahead of MEPC 85 (30 November to 3 December).

The second extraordinary session of MEPC (adjourned last October) is scheduled to resume on 4 December, subject to discussions at MEPC 85.

 

Photo credit: International Maritime Organization
Published: 7 September, 2026

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