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DNV GL: A new ECA and speed reduction limits at South Korean ports

South Korea has released a ‘special act on improvement of air quality in port areas’ to reduce particulate emissions from ocean going ships in its ports, it says.
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DNV GL Korea map 720 tcm8 173625

Classification society DNV GL on Monday (27 April) published an update on new emissions control area (ECA) definitions and speed reduction limits at South Korean ports to support the government’s program to control air quality: 

To reduce particulate emissions from ocean going ships in its ports, South Korea has released a “special act on improvement of air quality in port areas”. Find out more about the Korean ECA and its Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) programme in this statutory news.

Relevant for ship owners and managers sailing vessels to South Korean ports.

The South Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (“MOF”) has announced an air quality control programme that defines selected South Korean ports and areas as Emission Control Areas (ECA). A programme with maximum sulphur limits (0.1%) and speed limits will support the effectiveness of the programme. The following ports/areas are covered by the air quality control programme:

  • Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Dangjin Area
  • Yeosu, Gwangyang area
  • Busan
  • Busan(west) area
  • Ulsan area

The air quality control initiatives in South Korea consist of two parts:

  • Sulphur restriction
    • From 1 September 2020 it is mandatory to use fuel with max. 0.1% sulphur content while berthing. Vessels will be required to use max 0.1% sulphur fuel when berthing/anchoring for the times set out below:
    • Berthing: 1 hour after completion of berthing until 1 hour before de-berthing.
    • Anchoring: 1 hour after completion of anchoring until 1 hour before leaving anchor.
  • From 1 January 2022: It will be mandatory to use fuel with max. 0.1% sulphur content while navigating ECAs.
  1. Speed reductions
    The port areas selected will be designated as “VSR programme Sea Areas”. Each Sea Area will span 20 nautical miles in radius, measured from a specific lighthouse in each port. Ships should navigate no faster than a maximum speed of 12 knots for container ships and car-carriers, 10 knots for other ship types, when moving from starting point to an end point within a Sea Area, see table:
    DNV GL Korean ports table 770 tcm8 173626
  • Ships included in the programme:
    Ships covered under for the VSR programme differ at each port, but must be over 3,000GT and among the top 3 “fine-dust emitting” ship-types (see chart above).
  • Lower speed pays off:
    Under the VSR programme, ships will have their port facilities fees lowered when they enter defined port areas at speed levels as defined above. For affected ships, port entry/leave fee (currently 111 KRW per ton), will be discounted. The discount ceiling will differ between the ports. Container ships, for example, which traditionally enter port at relatively high speeds, will enjoy up to a 30% discount, while other ships will be granted a 15% discount.

Recommendations: 

Shipowners and operators should be aware of the following regulations:

South Korean ECA – From 1 September 2020, ships berthing or anchoring at certain Korean ports (South Korean ECA), must use max. 0.1% sulphur content fuel (or reduce emissions below this target). From 1 January 2022 this limit also applies when navigating the ECA area.

Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) Programme

Port fees will be reduced for ships which lower their speeds to set targets defined in the VSR programme Sea Areas.

References

Source and photo credit: DNV GL
Published: 28 April, 2020

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Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.
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June 19, 2026

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Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

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June 19, 2026

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A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.
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June 19, 2026

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MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

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