Connect with us

Business

Singapore: Sentek application to quash MPA’s refusal to renew bunkering licences dismissed

Manifold Times understands from a Sentek representative the company is planning to appeal the High Court decision.

Admin

Published

on

resized supreme court

The General Division of the High Court on Tuesday (27 August) dismissed an application from Sentek Marine & Trading Pte Ltd (Sentek) to quash the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)’s refusal to renew its bunker supplier and bunker craft operator licenses (Licenses).

Both Licenses were due to expire on 28 February 2023, and Sentek applied to the MPA on 16 January 2023 for them to be renewed. After a series of further correspondence, MPA informed Sentek on 1 April 2024 the Licences would not be renewed and would expire on 31 May 2024.

The decision to not renew Sentek’s Licenses was due to alleged breaches of the terms and conditions of the Licences in 2016 and 2017.

Concerned with potential reputational damage to Singapore as a trusted bunkering hub, MPA started its own investigations to find out if Sentek had complied with the terms and conditions of the Licences relating to the maintenance of correct and accurate records.

In response to MPA’s decision of 1 April 2024, Sentek on May 2024 applied to the High Court for a mandatory order requiring MPA to consider Sentek’s bunkering licenses applications afresh while preventing the cancellation of its existing Licenses.

Permission for judicial review was later granted on 11 July 2024.

In court, Sentek argued the alleged breaches were technical, isolated and virtually unpreventable while stating there was no systemic flaw of the company itself, according to documents procured by Manifold Times.

“To the contrary, the alleged breaches were caused by ex-employees going on a frolic of their own and it is not reasonable for MPA to assert that its decision was entirely independent of the Bukom Theft,” it argued.

The High Court discovered Sentek’s existing measures could not show it had established a system which could ordinarily detect employees who had embarked on a frolic of their own.

It also found Sentek did not explain how its enhanced measures would prevent falsification or manipulation of records in the future.

Amongst other reasons, the High Court found “no procedural impropriety” from MPA and dismissed Sentek’s original application.

Note: Sentek is currently still included in MPA’s ‘List of licensed bunker suppliers in the Port of Singapore’ and ‘List of licensed bunker craft operators in the Port of Singapore’ during a check by Manifold Times on 30 August 2024.

Manifold Times understands from a Sentek representative the company is planning to appeal the High Court decision.

 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 30 August 2024

Continue Reading

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.

Admin

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

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.

Admin

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

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.

Admin

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

Trending