Business

Argus Media: EU urged to put shipping recovery ahead of green deal

ECSA urges the EU to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the shipping industry before implementing the climate law proposal that it published on 4 March.

Published

6 years ago

April 8, 2020

Admin

Erik Hoffmann global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Friday (3 April) published an article on ECSA’s plea for the European Commission to prioritise the restoration of the shipping industry before delving into the European Green Deal:

The European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) said the shipping industry has to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic before it can commit to a green deal.

ECSA secretary general Martin Dorsman urged the European Commission to assess the impact of the pandemic on the shipping industry and “work on a recovery plan, before stating that the European green deal is keeping to its deadline no matter what”.

The green deal is a plan to decarbonise the EU economy by 2050 through a raft of measures, including carbon market reforms, changes to energy taxation and carbon pricing measures at the EU border. The commission is considering widening the European carbon trading market to cover shipping and road transport.

The EU published a climate law proposal on 4 March as a step towards making the EU’s target of zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 legally binding.

Shipping can be decarbonised by developing more fuel-efficient engines and vessels, and using low-carbon marine fuels such as hydrogen fuel cells, methanol, batteries and ammonia.

Dorsman said it is “impossible for the industry to continue the process of greening the fleet, which was picking up speed before the [coronavirus] pandemic set in, should this continue”.

ECSA welcomed the European Green Deal when it was unveiled by the commission in December.

“Through innovation and deployment, we show the rest of the world shipping can be highly competitive while moving towards zero emissions,” Dorsman said then.

But as the coronavirus pandemic has curbed shipping demand and particularly passenger ship operations in recent weeks, ECSA said it is unrealistic that the shipping industry will play a part in the move towards a green deal before they have recovered “to sustainable levels of activity”.

Many shipping companies “are facing liquidity issues and a sharp decrease in financing options, and a drop in cargo volumes is most likely to happen in the coming months”, Dorsman said.

Passenger shipping was hit by the travel bans immediately, but demand for container and bulk shipping has also been severely reduced.

European shipowners own 40% of the global fleet, and shipping makes up 76% of the EU’s external trade and 32% of its internal trade, according to ECSA.

Source: Argus Media
Published: 8 April, 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

11 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

11 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

11 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