Business

ENGINE: Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Bunker purchases complicated by mass volatility and sanctions; US fuel oil inventories tick up before sanctions kick in; prompt fuel tight in multiple Caribbean and South American ports.

Published

4 years ago

March 11, 2022

Admin

Resized Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook image for Manifold Times

The following article regarding bunker fuel availability in the Americas region has been provided by online marine fuel procurement platform ENGINE for post on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

10 March 2022

Bunker purchases complicated by mass volatility and sanctions
US fuel oil inventories tick up before sanctions kick in
Prompt fuel tight in multiple Caribbean and South American ports

Certain suppliers have been hesitant to offer stems in the US Gulf Coast region before they have ruled out majority Russian ownership of vessels, chartering and trading firms involved when fixing stems. The extra due diligence can delay the purchasing process some.

Massive volatility continues to create a difficult pricing environment. Suppliers typically offer firm prices with less than 15-minute validity before reoffering, and price offers can vary greatly between suppliers for the same fuel grade.

Some suppliers have been reluctant to indicate prices before firm enquiries are put forward, limiting the number of price points available.

Bunker availability is tight for prompt dates in the Houston area, where several suppliers’ earliest delivery dates are eight days ahead.

US fuel oil inventories have regained some weight after slumping to near all-time lows a month ago, the latest EIA figures showed this week. The country’s total stocks of residual fuel oil were helped by builds on the East Coast and Gulf Coast in the week to 4 March, while West Coast stocks have held almost unchanged.

US fuel oil inventories remain below their five-year average position at a time when US sanctions on Russian crude and oil products are about to come into effect.

The embargo announced by President Joe Biden this week is set to kick in 45 days after it is signed into law. The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of banning Russian oil imports on Wednesday, a day after Biden’s announcement.

New oil purchases will stop immediately, but US importers have 45 days to complete deliveries.

The embargo is set to have massive repercussions for fuel oil inflows to the US. About a third of fuel oil import volumes that have arrived in US ports so far this year, or is due to arrive by the end of March, have been shipped from Russia, according to cargo tracker Vortexa.

The vast majority of these imports are HSFO (91%) and have mostly departed from Russian ports in the Baltic Sea (70%) and Black Sea (26%).

Almost all of it land on the US Gulf Coast, with the three ports of Good Hope near New Orleans, Houston and Corpus Christi taking around three-quarters of it.

Russian fuel oil is imported to feed complex US refineries that use coker units to upgrade residuals to higher-value distillates like diesel. Other major outlets for imported and domestically produced fuel oil are US and regional bunker ports.

US importers will either need to source more fuel oil from its other top fuel oil sources like Mexico (30%) and Algeria (3%), and low sulphur fuel oil from Brazil, or find alternative sources to make up the import shortfall from places like Iraq.

Fuel availability is already tight across major Central American and Caribbean ports, many of which depend on imports from the US and could feel the pinch if there is less fuel oil available in the US in the months to come.

Bunker schedules are filling up fast in Balboa, even for a week and further out. Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO is still possible to find in Balboa, but at price premiums.

A supplier in Trinidad has been running low on product in wait for resupply. Deliveries off Trinidad have also been delayed by rough weather and choppy seas this week. The earliest delivery dates range between 9-10 days off Trinidad, compared to seven days in port.

The earliest date in Curacao is 11 days out.

VLSFO supply has been tightening for prompt dates at the Argentinian Zona Comun anchorage. Suppliers’ earliest delivery dates range between 6-9 days to 13-14 days. One supplier is not offering while its barge is in dry dock.

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 11 March, 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

15 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

15 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

15 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