Business

Argus Media: Spanish bunker fuel sales decline accelerates in May 2020

Las Palmas was an outlier, with bunker deliveries up by 11% on year, becoming Spain’s largest bunker port in Q1, because of competitive prices, according to suppliers.

Published

6 years ago

July 6, 2020

Admin

George Collard of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Friday (3 July) published an update on the overall decline of bunker sales in Spain during May as a result of COVID-19 related economic lockdowns:

The fall in bunker sales at Spanish ports continued in May, with Barcelona again bearing the brunt.

Spanish ports supplied 457,000t of bunker fuel in May, down by 35% from the same month a year earlier and by 13% from April, which itself was lower by 26% year on year. April was the first month when lockdowns imposed to combat Covid-19 hit European bunker sales.

Algeciras delivered 32% less bunker fuel in May than in the same month last year. Barcelona’s deliveries slumped by 71%. Deliveries at Ceuta fell by 54%, and at Tenerife by 45%.

Las Palmas was an outlier, with bunker deliveries up by 11% year on year. It became Spain’s largest bunker port in the first quarter, mainly because of competitive prices, according to suppliers. In the first half of April, 0.5% sulphur fuel oil at Las Palmas had been at a weekly average discount to Algeciras, before it moved to a premium in the second half. Las Palmas remained at a slight 75¢/t premium to the mainland port in May.

The overall fall reflects lower levels of arrivals, departures and trade. Just 27 cruise ships visited Spanish ports in May, compared with 478 a year prior — a 94% fall. Only two called at Barcelona, the country’s biggest cruise ship port, compared with 105 in May 2019.

Liquid bulk tonnes handled at Spanish, mainly from oil and chemical tankers, declined by 24%. The biggest liquid bulk port Algeciras saw a 36% decline. Algeciras is also Spain’s largest container port, and the number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) fell by 15% year on year. Spain’s overall TEU handlings fell by 22%.

Dry bulk tonnage at Spanish ports fell by 30%, although Barcelona, the biggest dry-bulk port, saw a 55% increase.

Gibraltar, which is the Mediterranean’s largest bunker port, does not publish monthly sales figures. In May, 450 ships called at the port for bunkering, which was a 7% drop on the year but up from April when the number was down by 15% year on year. No cruise ships called at Gibraltar for a second month in a row.

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 6 July, 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

14 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

14 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

14 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