Business

Argus Media: Shipping decarbonisation needs more port investment, says ABL

Upgrading port infrastructure, over providing incentives to smaller shipowners to build environmentally-friendly ships, should be prioritised, says ABL group.

Published

5 years ago

September 16, 2021

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Nicholas Watt of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Tuesday (14 September) reported on the link between port infrastructure and shipping decarbonisation:

Port infrastructure needs to be significantly upgraded if the shipping industry is to achieve its decarbonisation goals, according to panelists at an industry event hosted by the AqualisBraemar LOC (ABL) Group today.

Upgrading port infrastructure, more so than providing incentives to smaller shipowners to build environmentally-friendly ships, is the most important step the shipping industry could take now to decarbonize, according to panelist Dean Goves, managing director at Longitude Engineering, which is part of the ABL Group.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is targeting a 50pc cut in CO2 shipping emissions, which currently account for 2-3pc of the world’s total, by 2050 from a 2008 baseline, though the US and now UK have called for net-zero emissions in that time frame.

One clear way for a port to help cut shipping emissions is through so-called cold ironing, said panelist George Savvopoulos, a consultant at ABL. Cold ironing is the process by which a a port powers an idling ship via electricity.

Such a practice would allow vessels in port to turn off their diesel-burning engines, which typically use about a fifth of the fuel compared to when ships are in full steam.

“All ports should be developing this type of facility,” said Savvopoulos. “This will require investment but in most cases it’s just not there.”

Ports also need to be able to provide whatever kind of fuels ships end up using in the coming decades, like they do now with petroleum-based bunkers. Such fuels that will likely figure into shipping’s energy mix — LNG, LPG, ammonia, hydrogen, biofuels — all require different facilities to be distributed onto ships.

About 12pc of ships on order at shipyards will have the ability to burn alternative fuel.

Ports need to “find the space and supply chains” to be able to accommodate them, Savvopoulos said. But funds for such bunkering improvements are relatively scarce because of competing priorities among port investors.

Combating rising water levels, a direct impact of climate change, is the more pressing matter for port investors, said panelist David Handley of law firm Watson, Farley and Williams.

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 16 September, 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

9 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

9 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

9 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