Business

Argus Media: IMO-compliant fuel enquiries arise in Fujairah

Local bunker suppliers receiving exploratory enquiries from trading firms about 0.5%S LSFO availability.

Published

7 years ago

February 8, 2019

Admin

Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Thursday (7 February) provided an industry update regarding IMO-compliant fuel enquiries in Fujairah:

Bunker suppliers in Fujairah have been receiving exploratory enquiries from trading firms about the availability of 0.5pc low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO).

Interest began in January, with potential buyers seeking detail on supplies and potential pricing mechanisms of LSFO, suppliers said.

This week, a number of physical bunker suppliers in Fujairah received an enquiry from a European bunker trading firm for around 2,000t of 0.5pc LSFO for 19-21 February supply in Fujairah.

"For the producers or suppliers to be interested in selling, the demand or the order volume will need to be considerably higher than 2,000t. If there were an enquiry for a 6,000t barge of LSFO, with sufficient time to produce, then producers could be interested," a Fujairah trader said.

LSFO will likely be available from a number of firms in Fujairah, primarily Vitol and German firm Uniper.

The latter can produce up to 300,000t a month of LSFO at full capacity from its simple crude-processing facility at the port. Uniper produces around 50,000t of 0.1pc ultra-low sulphur fuel oil (ULSFO) by processing low sulphur crudes, which it exports for use in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) in Asia-Pacific. It plans to ramp up 0.5pc LSFO production later in 2019 to meet bunker demand for IMO-compliant marine fuels.

Bunker sales at Fujairah have fallen since vessels flying the Qatari flag were banned from UAE ports in 2017. This removed an estimated 150,000-250,000t of demand each month, and sales volumes at Fujairah are now an estimated 8-10mn t/yr. Marine-grade HSFO with maximum sulphur content of 3.5pc constitutes more than 95pc these volumes, and replacing this with compliant marine fuels by 2020 will be challenging given a lack of desulphurisation capacity in the region.

Trading in significant volumes of non-compliant bunker fuel oil in Fujairah is likely to continue post-2020, especially on routes within the Mideast Gulf and from vessels with onboard sulphur scrubbing technology. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Qatar are not members of ship pollution convention MARPOL, and this absence of enforcement and punishment mechanisms, combined with profitable economics, could prompt shipping firms to continue burning non-compliant fuel oil on intra-Gulf routes.

Penalties for infringement of MARPOL regulations range widely from one country to another, even in ECA areas. The penalty in some of the Baltic countries is $5,000; in Belgium violators could pay up to $6mn.

Source: Argus Media
Published: 8 February, 2019

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

16 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

16 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

16 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