Business

Argus Media: Emission rules to curb product tanker fleet growth – DIS

There is an industry trend of focusing on debt reduction instead of fleet growth in the absence of any dominant technology to meet IMO regulations, it said.

Published

6 years ago

August 4, 2020

Admin

Nicolas Kyriakoglou of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Monday (3 August) published an article outlining how strategies that shipping companies have adopted to navigate emission regulations are hindering fleet growth:

The product tanker market should get some support from a low newbuild order book in the medium- to long-term, Italy-listed d’Amico International Shipping (DIS) chief financial officer Carlos Balestra di Mottola told Argus.

He said that there is a general industry trend of focusing on debt reduction rather than ordering new tankers, with the absence of a dominant technology that will allow shipowners to meet the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) 2050 emissions-reduction regulations providing perhaps the biggest obstacle to fleet growth.

“For vessels which navigate on more predictable routes, [shipowners] can make some sort of choice, to go for LNG or for dual-fuel ships,” di Mottola said. But for shipowners who go to many different, unpredictable ports — such as in Medium Range (MR) tanker segment — vessels “need a lot of flexibility”.

“It is very hard today, to know what solution will prevail. There are so many out there. So we are in a wait-and-see mode, also because we have recently completed an important newbuilding program,” he said.

DIS has invested more than $750mn in 22 newbuild tankers since 2012, di Mottola said. But further investment is “not a priority” and the focus is now on reducing debt, even after it reported the highest operating profit since the second quarter of 2015 in the March-June period.

He said that other tanker companies seem to be following the same strategy, even though the first half of the year produced strong industry cash flows. This is because of a combination of the uncertainty around Covid-19 and an attempt by traditional banks to reduce their exposure to shipping, particularly in Germany and Scandinavia.

The lack of new orders are a counterbalance to the severe shortfall in demand that has led to a sharp downward correction in freight rates since late May, di Mottola said, although he said that the long-term fundamentals of the product tanker market are still favourable for DIS. He pointed to the low orderbook, the expansion of global refining capacity in the next few years — which will occur largely in regions which are export-oriented such as the Middle East — and government stimulus packages, all of which will help freight rates recover, he said. Also, tanker scrapping could pick up later this year and next year if Covid-19 restrictions that closed many of the shipbreaking yards are lifted.

DIS has a target of 40-60% coverage in the time charter market, which provides “safety, visibility on our earnings”, di Mottola said. It has focused on reducing operating costs since 2018.

The company has adopted “condition-based maintenance” on all its eco-design vessels delivered from yards since 2014, entailing use of technologies such as tribology analysis, sensory monitoring of vibrations, video endoscopy and thermal imaging to increase the average lifespan of spare parts and reduce breakdowns. This allowed DIS to reduce its average daily operating costs by more than 11% from the first half of 2018, to $6,679/d in the first half of this year, di Mottola said.

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 4 August, 2020

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