Business

China bonded bunker fuel sales dip 1.5% on year from Jan to May

Domestic LSFO production and market price fluctuations may be main factors in whether bonded bunker fuel volume can achieve a breakthrough for 2022.

Published

4 years ago

July 5, 2022

Admin

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The following article published by Manifold Times on 5 July was sourced from China’s domestic market through a local correspondent. An online translation service was used in the production of the current editorial piece:

China sold 8.295 million metric tonnes (mt) of bonded bunker fuel from January to May 2022, down 1.5% year-on-year, according to China-based consultancy LongZhong on Friday (24 June).

In comparison, the world’s largest marine bunkering hub Singapore’s bonded fuel supply totalled 19.163 mt, a year-on-year decrease of 9.4%, during the same period.

China bonded bunker fuel sales dip 1.5% on year from Jan to May

Figure 1 Comparison of the fuel supply of bonded ships in Singapore and China from 2017 to 2022

In the second quarter of the year, low sulphur fuel oil availability continued to be tight while price rose, which made it difficult to significantly boost bonded bunker fuel sales.

Figure 2 2021-2022 China Bonded Ship Fuel Supply Monthly Sales

From the perspective of supply companies, the bunkering volume of Sinopec Zhoushan and Chimbusco accounted for 92% of the total bunkering volume, occupying a major market share.

Figure 3 Market share of Chinese bonded ship fuel supply companies from January to May 2022

In terms of oil supply varieties, from January to May 2022, low-sulphur fuel oil in China’s bonded ships accounted for 88%, and the proportion of high-sulphur fuel oil was 6%. During the same period last year, its proportion was 88.8% and 6.5% respectively.

The proportion of low-sulphur fuel oil in Singapore’s total oil supply to ships is 64.5%, and high-sulphur fuel oil accounts for 26.9%. During the same period last year, the proportion was 66.8% and 24.6% respectively.

The fuel supply of bonded ships in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province reached 2.36 million mt, an increase of 18% year-on-year. It accounted for 28.5% of the national oil supply of bonded vessels, making it the largest domestic bonded ship fuel supply port in China. The market share of local licensed enterprises in Zhoushan accounted for 10.6% of the national market share and 37% of the local bonded direct supply in Zhoushan.

In addition, the oil supply of bonded vessels in Qingdao Port increased rapidly from January to May, with a year-on-year increase of more than 40%. At present, domestic resources have become an important factor in whether suppliers can achieve breakthroughs in supply of bonded vessels. In addition, under high oil prices, there is great resource pressure, which is also a factor restricting business development.

Figure 3 Comparison of oil supply in key ports of China’s bonded ship oil supply in 2021-2022

From January to May 2022, bonded fuel oil imports shrank significantly. The total volume of fuel oil imports was 4.4036 million mt, down 4.55% year-on-year. Bonded fuel oil imports account for 31% of the oil consumption of bonded ships.

From January to May, about 84% of China’s bonded low-sulphur ship fuel oil consumption was from domestic refinery resources, an increase of 22.5% year-on-year.

Figure 5 China’s bonded fuel oil import and consumption trends

In June, it was still difficult for the oil supply of local bonded bunker suppliers to rise significantly due to high prices. It is expected that the oil supply of China’s bonded ships may reach about 10 million mt in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decline of about 2%.

In the second half of the year, domestic low-sulphur fuel oil production and market price fluctuations may be the main factors in whether the oil supply of bonded bunkering ships can achieve a substantial breakthrough for 2022.

Photo credit: Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash
Published: 5 July, 2022

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

17 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

17 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

17 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