Business

Argus Media: IMO-compliant fuel more widely available at international ports

While Fonars and off-spec fuel alerts were commonplace in January especially in Saudi Arabian ports, the numbers have fallen drastically as the supply of compliant fuel stabilises.

Published

6 years ago

March 25, 2020

Admin

Erik Hoffmann of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Tuesday (24 March) published an article analysing the availability of IMO-compliant marine fuel in ports worldwide:

There are signs that IMO-compliant marine fuel is becoming more widely available in ports around the world, with shipowners filing fewer non-availability reports.

Shipowners filed 41 compliant fuel non-availability reports (Fonars) to the IMO in January. The number dropped to six in February, and just one has been filed in March so far.

Fonars were set up as a reporting mechanism for shipowners that are unable to source fuel in ports compliant with the IMO’s 0.5% sulphur cap from 1 January. If a ship enters a port with no 0.5% sulphur fuel oil available to bunker, the ship’s operator must also check if 0.1% or 0.5% sulphur marine gasoil (MGO) are available before it can submit a Fonar to the ship’s flag authority.

Of the Fonars filed so far this year, 34 relate to a lack of 0.5% sulphur fuel oil in a port, two for a lack of 0.1% sulphur MGO, and three for a lack of both. The remaining nine referenced bunkered fuel that tested off-specification with too high sulphur content.

New 0.5% fuel oil blends were offered in several of the world’s main bunkering hubs for testing throughout 2019 and increasingly in commercial volumes from November. But supply of 0.5% fuel oil remained patchy in some smaller bunkering locations in the lead-up to the sulphur cap and after it came into effect.

As shipowners were reconfiguring their bunker procurement networks, they occasionally encountered ports where fuel with less than 0.5% sulphur content was not available.

Saudi Arabian ports had the most non-availability, with two Fonars filed for each of Yanbu and Jeddah and one for Dhuba. Brazil, Egypt and India had four each, while South Africa and Sri Lanka had three each.

Shipping association Bimco has said the low number of Fonars filed to the IMO may not be reflective of non-availability because it does not count shipowners that wait for fuel to become available in a port or travel to a different port to source IMO-compliant fuel there instead.

Limited availability of compliant fuels in Singapore and Port Klang in Malaysia at the start of the year led to waiting times of up to 8-9 days. But there have not been any Fonars filed to the IMO for either of those ports.

Of the nine Fonars relating to bunkered fuel that tested off-specification, two included documentation: one in Malta and one in Cristobal, Panama. All of these instances of fuel with off-spec sulphur content were in January, when the bunker industry was experiencing teething problems, most notably off-spec sediment levels in the new 0.5% fuel oil blends.

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 25 March, 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

22 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

22 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

22 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