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China: Structural and operational upgrades lead to 15% increase in bunker sales at Zhoushan port

Changes include abolishing advance declaration of bunkers as dangerous cargo, reducing pilotage fees on vessels receiving bunkers, and a ‘whitelist’ system for bunker tankers.

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The Zhoushan Bonded Marine Fuel Association on Saturday (9 January) reported bonded bunker sales at Zhoushan totalling 4.724 million metric tonnes (mt) in 2020, translating to 7,517 vessels receiving bunkers and a 15.14% year on year increase compared to 2019. 

The association attributes the port’s performance to the following factors:

  • Government preferential support policies and innovative regulatory measures for various departments to be able to coordinate simultaneously in order to resolve any issues that could arise during the bunkering process.
  • The maritime department abolished the advance declaration of bunker as dangerous cargo, integrated the management of each anchorage to reduce the waiting time for vessels, reduced pilotage fees on vessels receiving bunkers, created a “whitelist” system for bunker supply tankers and put into service “Zhoushan type” bunker vessels.
  • The commerce department revised taxation and regulatory measures such as export and tax rebate policies to support the physical supply business and the implementation of bunker fuel futures deliveries.
  • At the end of the year, various departments worked together to develop a more convenient custom clearance “refuel and go” model for large vessels.

The association also published the following as the key highlights for 2020:

  • The four main anchorages of Tiaoqimen, Xiazhimen, Mazhi and Xiushan have provided fuel to 2,405 vessels on international voyages, with a fuelling volume of 1,866,400 metric tonnes, accounting for 39.5% of the port’s total fuel supply.
  • In recent years, 21 new bunker fuel anchors have been added to anchorages such as Xiazhimen Anchorage, Mazhi Anchorage, Aoshan Joint Inspection Anchorage, Xiushan Anchorage and Tiaoqimen Outer Anchorage, covering the southern, central and northern parts of the Zhoushan port area.
  • The electronic Anchorage Service Bunker Delivery System 2.0 platform was put into operation at the outer port limit. The system is supported by big data to provide international customers with a better service guarantee and efficiency.
  • The number of bunker supply licenses at Zhejiang Free Trade Zone has continued to increase and operations now include cross-port bunkering operations with the Port of Shanghai. 
  • After witnessing positive results from its preferential policies in 1H 2020, the government granted export licenses to private refineries. It then regularly held conferences and special meetings with bunker supply companies and oil trading companies to facilitate trade, ensure supply and tap on large orders.
  • As of the end of December 2020, bunker fuel exported from local refineries accounted for 1.2 million mt (25%) of Zhoushan’s supply. Refineries within Zhoushan account for 560,000 mt of bunker fuel.
  • The customs and maritime authority have accelerated customs clearance procedures for fuel oil imports at Zhoushan Port. 
  • Various innovative regulatory measures such as oil blending, futures delivery, and transfer of bonded fuel in the warehouses have been put in place to make trade more adaptable to the different needs of bunker traders in the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone.

 “As 2021 remains uncertain, it is necessary to continue to maintain our strengths, adhere to international benchmarking, continually innovate, and strengthen the joint development of the Yangtze River Delta, in order to strengthen the comprehensive supporting capabilities of our maritime services,” said the Zhoushan Port Comprehensive Protection Zone Management Committee in a statement.

“We will continue to strengthen the protection of our oil resources, promote the normalisation of blending business, and expand the delivery of fuel oil futures. 

“In order to achieve these goals, we will have to improve our infrastructure which will include the formal use of the Qushan and Luhuashan anchorages, and commence the night-time bunker supply services at the Tiaoqimen anchorage. 

“We will also promote cross-port fuel supply operations and make every effort to reach the 6 million mt bunker sales target set by the government for 2021.”

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Related: Shanghai INE inks agreement with PetroChina for LSFO futures overseas delivery
Related: Shanghai and Zhoushan port complete first cross-port bunkering operation
Related: First bunker tanker purpose-built for Zhejiang Free-Trade Zone begins fuel delivery ops
Related: China to grant export quotas for refined oil products to private refineries


Photo credit: Zhoushan Bonded Marine Fuel Association
Published: 11 January, 2021

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Legal

Helmsman on Inter-Pacific Petroleum legal battle: When ignorance meets fraud

Lester Ho, Associate Director of law firm Helmsman shared his timely key takeaways on the recent case of Goh Jin Hian against defunct Singapore bunker supplier Inter-Pacific Petroleum.

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Lester Ho Helmsman

Lester Ho, Associate Director of multi-disciplinary law firm Helmsman LLC shared his timely key takeaways on the recent case of Goh Jin Hian v Inter-Pacific Petroleum when the Appellate Division of the High Court in Singapore overturned the High Court’s finding that Mr Goh’s breach had caused IPP to incur the losses:

The collapse of a company often prompts a search for blame, especially where the downfall stems from deliberate misconduct such as fraud that appears avoidable in hindsight. Unsurprisingly, a company’s directors are frequently perceived as the root of the problem and become prime suspects in the inevitable witch hunt for accountability. The recent case of Goh Jin Hian v Inter-Pacific Petroleum Pte Ltd (in liquidation) [2025] SGHC(A) 7 is a timely reminder of a director’s duties as well as the legal risks in the event of breach.

The downfall of Inter-Pacific Petroleum Pte Ltd (“IPP”) is well-documented. The Maritime Port Authority of Singapore suspended IPP’s bunker craft operator licence after discovering that the mass flow meter of a bunker tanker chartered by IPP had been tampered with. Concerns raised by IPP’s banks in relation to its business led its non-executive director, Mr Goh Jin Hian, to discover that it was heavily indebted to the banks. It was also discovered that the facilities had been used on sham sale and purchase transactions.

IPP was subsequently placed in compulsory liquidation, and Mr Goh was sued for breach of his director’s duties. It was alleged that the sham transactions could have been prevented had Mr Goh discharged his duties and that he was therefore responsible for IPP’s losses. At first instance, the High Court found that Mr Goh had breached his duty of care and ordered him to compensate IPP for approximately US$146 million in losses (Inter-Pacific Petroleum Pte Ltd (in liquidation) v Goh Jin Hian [2024] SGHC 178). Among other things, the High Court found that Mr Goh was in breach because he was entirely ignorant of IPP’s cargo trading business.

The Appellate Division of the High Court upheld the finding that Mr Goh had breached his duty for having been unaware of IPP’s cargo trading business. However, it overturned the High Court’s finding that Mr Goh’s breach had caused IPP to incur the losses. The Appellate Division found that IPP failed to prove that Mr Goh would have uncovered the sham transactions even if he had discharged his duty. Accordingly, Mr Goh was absolved of his liability to compensate IPP.

There are two broad takeaways from the decision.

The first takeaway is that every director, both executive and non-executive, is held to a minimum standard of care. This standard requires directors to take reasonable steps to put themselves in a position where they can guide and monitor the management of the company. Put simply, ignorance of a company’s business is no defence, even for non-executive directors that are not involved in everyday operations. Accordingly, although Mr Goh was a non-executive director, the fact that he was unaware that IPP was carrying on the business of cargo trading meant that he was in breach of his duties.

It may be surprising that a director could be entirely unaware of an important part of a company’s business. But the reality is that modern day companies have become commercial behemoths with complex and layered operations that makes it all too easy for directors (especially non-executive directors) to delegate oversight over critical business decisions and lose visibility of what their companies do. It is therefore important for directors, regardless of their formal titles, to ensure that there is a robust chain of reporting and command such that they have sufficient knowledge of the company’s operations to discharge their duties.

The second is that, while the law imposes high standards on directors, it does not demand unrealistic standards. As noted, the Appellate Division accepted that Mr Goh had breached his duties for having been unaware of IPP’s cargo trading business. However, it was not persuaded that, even if Mr Goh had discharged his duties and had been properly informed of IPP’s activities, the sham transactions could have been prevented. IPP was affected by what the Appellate Division considered a “deep-seated fraud” that had gone undetected even by IPP’s auditors. In the circumstances, it was far from clear that Mr Goh could have prevented the loss even if he had discharged his duty.

However, just because the law does not expect directors to be superhuman does mean that directors can afford to be complacent. Directors would still do well to take reasonable and diligent steps to ensure that they have a good grasp of the company’s operations and engage competent professionals (e.g., auditors) to help surface risks that they may otherwise miss. In a sense, Mr Goh avoided liability not because his breach was minor, but because the extent of the fraud perpetrated meant that the gravity of his breach cannot be said to have caused the loss. In other words, a less sophisticated or extensive fraud might have yielded a drastically different outcome – directors should take heed.

A timeline organised list of events preceding the current development of Inter-Pacific Petroleum has been recorded by Manifold Times below:

Related: Singapore: Ex-Director of Inter-Pacific Petroleum wins appeal against former company

Related: Singapore: Ex-Director of Inter-Pacific Petroleum appeals High Court decision
Related: Singapore: Former auditors of Inter-Pacific Petroleum undergo private oral examination at court
Related: Singapore: Civil trial between Inter-Pacific Petroleum and Dr Goh Jin Hian begins
Related: Former Singapore Director of Inter-Pacific Petroleum sued for USD 156 million
Related: Inter-Pacific Petroleum creditors authorised to fund lawsuit against former Director
Related: New Silkroutes under investigation over possible breach of Securities and Futures Act
Related: Judicial Managers considering to take former Singapore Director of Inter-Pacific Petroleum to court
Related: Singapore: Inter-Pacific Group receives winding up order from High Court
Related: Singapore: Inter-Pacific Group files for winding up application at High Court
Related: MPA revokes Inter-Pacific Petroleum Pte Ltd bunker supplier licence
Related: Co-heads of Trade and Commodities Finance for Asia-Pacific leave SocGen
Related: Inter-Pacific Group, Inter-Pacific Petroleum to hold creditors’ meet
Related: NewOcean detains Singapore-flagged bunker tanker “Pacific Energy 28”
Related: SocGen lawsuit against NewOcean Petroleum dropped, party to counterclaim
Related: MPA revokes Inter-Pacific Petroleum bunker craft operator licence
Related: Magnets on MFMs: Trial starts for former bunker clerk of “Consort Justice
Related: First suspect charged over MFM tampering in landmark case
Related: With nearly $180 million of debt, IPP proposes interim judicial management
Related: Inter-Pacific Group, Inter-Pacific Petroleum under judicial management
Related: Magnets on MFMs: “Consort Justice” crew pleads ‘not guilty’ to tampering charge
Related: IPP responds to temporary suspension of bunker craft operator licence
Related: MPA temporarily suspends IPP bunker craft operator licence
Related: Singapore: Bunker Cargo officer, crew face charges over alleged MFM tampering

 

Photo credit: Helmsman
Published: 13 June, 2025

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Alternative Fuels

China’s SDARI receives AiPs for alternative-fuelled ships including ammonia bunker vessel

CSSC’s SDARI obtained Approval in Principle (AiP) certificates from classification societies ABS, RINA and LR for four vessel designs including a 50,000 cubic metre ammonia bunkering vessel.

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China’s SDARI receives AiPs for alternative-fuelled ships including ammonia bunker vessel

China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) recently obtained Approval in Principle (AiP) certificates from several classification societies for four vessel designs. 

Among the four is a 50,000 cubic metre (m3) ammonia bunkering vessel, which received AiP certificate from American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). 

It integrates liquid ammonia transportation and bunkering functions and can meet the long-distance transportation needs of liquefied gas goods such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquid ammonia. 

The ship is equipped with three IMO Type A independent liquid cargo tanks, and uses zero-carbon ammonia fuel to drive the main engine and generator, meeting the IMO greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy and actively responding to the latest greenhouse gas intensity (GFI) requirements of the 83rd meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83). 

The entire ship is equipped with two independent 1,000 m3 deck liquid ammonia storage tanks, taking into account the ammonia fuel endurance requirements under multi-cargo loading and unloading, significantly improving operational economy and flexibility. 

In response to the needs of bunkering operations, it is specially equipped with a retractable bow thruster, side thruster and adjustable propellers to meet ABS’ DPS-1 notation and adapt to the complex port environment of bunkering operations. 

China’s SDARI receives AiPs for alternative-fuelled ships including ammonia bunker vessel

Meanwhile, a dual-fuel LNG/hydrogen-powered Ultramax bulker design and a 30,000 GT Roll-On/Roll-Off Passenger (ROPAX) ship designed to sail in the Mediterranean Sea received AiP certificates from RINA. 

SDARI also received AiP from Lloyd’s Register (LR) for a 113,000 dwt ammonia dual-fuel liquid cargo ship. The optimised propulsion system, specially configured with an ammonia dual-fuel power system and a wind-assisted propulsion system, is expected to save more than 10% energy, especially at low speeds. 

 

Photo credit: Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute
Published: 12 June, 2025

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Alternative Fuels

GCMD-BCG survey: 77% of shipowners, operators view net zero as high strategic priority

Survey also found the use of bio-blended bunker fuels has more than doubled to 46% and methanol use has increased from 3% to 6% but uptake of more nascent technologies such as ammonia remains limited.

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GCMD-BCG survey: 77% of shipowners, operators view net zero as high strategic priority

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) on Wednesday (11 June) said a survey found 77% of shipowners and operators now consider achieving net zero a high priority in their strategy, up from 73% two years ago.

This was among the findings of the second edition of the Global Maritime Decarbonisation Survey, jointly conducted by GCMD and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) between October 2024 and February 2025.

The survey gathered 114 responses from shipowners and operators across a range of vessel types, fleet sizes, and regions. While the survey was conducted before the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) MEPC 83 session in April, its findings already reflected sustained commitment across the industry. The outcomes of MEPC 83—introducing new regulatory targets and incentives—are expected to reinforce these ambitions and further accelerate momentum.

Survey results show that 60% of respondents have now set net-zero targets (up from 54%), while the use of bio-blended fuels has more than doubled to 46%, and methanol use has increased from 3% to 6%. However, uptake of more nascent technologies—such as ammonia, wind-assisted propulsion systems, solar panels, super-light ships, and air lubrication—remains limited.

The survey also reflects the industry’s desire for policies and regulations to create a level playing field. Nearly three-quarters of respondents identified either compliance measures or financial incentives as the most important policy objectives. A level playing field will ensure that early adopters are not competitively disadvantaged on cost and stakeholders with limited resources can benefit from financial support to overcome economic barriers.

The survey also gathered insights from key bunkering ports, whose support is critical for maritime decarbonisation. Most surveyed ports have roadmaps and dedicated teams focused on initiatives to facilitate maritime decarbonisation, and all of them, namely Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Port of Long Beach, Port of New York and New Jersey, Port of Rotterdam, and Port of Singapore, offer green incentives. 

A significant concern for ports, however, is the lack of demand certainty from shipping companies for both low-carbon fuels and Onboard Carbon Capture Systems (OCCS). This ‘chicken-and-egg’ dilemma hinders ports to take on the investment decision to develop the requisite infrastructure, though the recently introduced GHG pricing mechanism is expected to strengthen demand signals for low-carbon fuels.

Dr Sanjay C Kuttan, Chief Strategy Officer of GCMD, said, “Positive developments in maritime policy, especially from the IMO, which further tighten limits on GHG emissions, along with the increased ambitions voiced by survey respondents, are encouraging signals. Greater cooperation with the ports and pertinent stakeholders across the various value chains will be required to address challenges across the broader ecosystem. With the right investments and collaborative actions, the maritime industry can chart a course to a future where sustainable decarbonisation and commercial success can co-exist.

Anand Veeraraghavan, Managing Director and Senior Partner of BCG, said, “It is encouraging to see that even in the face of global uncertainties, the maritime industry’s decarbonisation ambitions remain intact and steadfast. The recent MEPC outcomes mark a pivotal step forward, sharpening demand signals with incentives for exceeding compliance goals and penalty mechanisms for shortfalls. Now is the time for the industry—both ships and ports—to build on this momentum.

Note: The second edition of the GCMD–BCG Global Maritime Decarbonisation Survey report can be viewed here

 

Photo credit: Lukas Blazek on Unsplash
Published: 12 June, 2025

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