Business

Argus Media: China’s bonded bunker fuel sales rise in 2020

In 2020 China’s fuel oil production rose by 37% from 2019, and quick economic recovery from Covid-19 helped drive an increase in vessels calling at Chinese ports.

Published

5 years ago

January 27, 2021

Admin

Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Tuesday (26 January) published a summary on the various market forces that account for the 31% bunker fuel sales increase in China throughout 2020:

China’s bonded bunker sales increased on the year by 4.04 mnt, or nearly 31%, to 17.2mnt in 2020, according to data from bunker suppliers. A rise in Chinese production of very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and the country’s quick recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic helped sales.

China’s fuel oil production rose by 37% from 2019 to 33.7mn t last year, national bureau of statistics (NBS) data show, with most of the volumes likely supplied to the bunker market in the form of VLSFO to meet the International Maritime Organisation’s 0.5% sulphur cap in marine fuels that took effect last January.

Around 30 Chinese refineries can now produce VLSFO, according to a survey by Argus. China has also reduced its dependence on fuel oil imports, which fell by 15% from 14.8mn t in 2019 to 12.6mn t last year, according to customs data.

On the demand side, China’s quick economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic helped drive an increase in vessels calling at Chinese ports, supporting bunker sales growth. China’s economy grew by 2.3% in 2020, the slowest since 1976 but above most analyst expectations.

China’s iron ore imports hit a record high in 2020, climbing by 9.5% on the year to 1.17bn t thanks to a rise in steel mill output. Container ships calling at Chinese ports also rose, with container turnover of 26,430 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2020, up by 1.2% from 2019, according to the transport ministry. Despite imposing coal import restrictions at the end of 2019, China’s total coal imports still increased by 1.5% from 2019 to 304mn t last year, according to customs data. China’s agricultural product imports also moved up in 2020, with grain and meat imports rising by 28% and 60.4%, respectively.

China’s competitiveness in terms of VLSFO prices increased in 2020, which also helped boost its bunker sales volumes. VLSFO prices at China’s largest bunker port of Zhoushan recorded a premium of just $4/t to Singapore levels over June-December, compared with $25/t during the same period in 2019. Zhoushan port completed 4.73mn t of bunker sales in 2020, accounting for about 28% of China’s total volume. Lower VLSFO prices in Zhoushan compared with Singapore spurred more vessels to bunker at the Chinese port.

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 27 January, 2021

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

12 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

12 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

12 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