Business

Argus Media: Singapore delivered marine fuels methodology updated

Retires 7:1 calculated ratio on 11 February and now assessing 0.5% LSFO based on market price info.

Published

7 years ago

February 15, 2019

Admin

Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Thursday (14 February) provided an industry update regarding its methodology for Singapore delivered marine fuels:

Argus this week changed the way it assesses 0.5pc low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) for delivery in Singapore, and introduced a new price assessment for 0.5pc marine gasoil (MGO), to reflect developments in this rapidly changing market.

Argus launched its price assessment for delivered 0.5pc LSFO in Singapore on 1 October 2018. In the absence of trades, bids and offers, this new blended fuel was initially assessed using a ratio of 7 units of 0.1pc low-sulphur marine gasoil (LSMGO) to 1 unit of 380cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), yielding a calculated price that was based on our two main flagship delivered price assessments for the port.

Argus retired the 7:1 calculated ratio on 11 February and is now assessing 0.5pc LSFO based on price information heard in the market. Since the beginning of January, Argus has received reported deals of 0.1pc LSFO that were done at an average discount of $38.85/t to the MGO 0.1pc sulphur assessment. Based on a survey of market participants, a buyer of 0.5pc LSFO delivered to ship within 4-12 days would not be able to get much, if any, discount from the 0.1pc LSFO price. Respondents were consistent in their answers, which ranged from a $5/t discount to zero discount to the 0.1pc LSFO price. In light of this, Argus on 11 February assessed 0.5pc LSFO at $539/t — $40/t below the MGO 0.1pc price and $125.51/t above 380cst HSFO.

Argus will continue to use this method, of considering a variety of low-sulphur deal information combined with market surveys in the absence of reported deals, as we move towards volume-weighted averaging of deals for this grade. Argus received 470 Singapore bunker deals into its assessment process in January, an average of more than 20 a day, providing the foundation for robust assessments.

Argus also introduced a new price assessment for 0.5pc MGO in Singapore on 11 February. Argus has received several deals of 0.5pc MGO since mid-December last year, with the trades done at an average discount of $3.35/t to the Argus LSMGO assessment.

A 0.5pc MGO cargo is usually blended by the terminal with the sulphur content ranging from 0.4-0.5pc, one supplier says. Argus is assessing 0.5pc MGO at a $3-5/t discount to LSMGO as a result, although this will change based on deals reported and bids and offers obtained from the market on a daily basis.

Source: Argus Media
Published: 15 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

18 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

18 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

18 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