Business

ENGINE: Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

East Coast low sulphur fuel supply improving; Cyclone Yakecan hits Brazil, suspends bunkering; US fuel oil and distillate stocks rise as refiners up run rates.

Published

4 years ago

May 20, 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:

19 May 2022

East Coast low sulphur fuel supply improving
Cyclone Yakecan hits Brazil, suspends bunkering
US fuel oil and distillate stocks rise as refiners up run rates

North America

Prompt supply of all grades is back on offer in New York. A supplier can deliver in 5-7 days. Several others can deliver VLSFO and LSMGO grades with 2-3 days of lead time.

New York’s LSMGO price has come off against Houston and other major Americas ports this week.

Prompt deliveries of VLSFO and LSMGO are available in the Houston area, including Bolivar Roads, and offshore in locations like the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA).

LSMGO is tight with certain suppliers in Corpus Christi, with one’s earliest delivery date five days out.

US fuel oil stocks jumped 4% higher to eight-month highs last week, with gains across regions. Refiners have been ramping up run rates in recent months. East Coast and Gulf Coast refineries ran up to 95% of utilisation capacity last week, yielding more fuel oil as a result.

US importers have targeted Mexican and Middle Eastern fuel oil volumes to replace embargoed Russian product.

In addition to higher total refinery production, refiners have been looking to maximise gasoline and distillate production amid surging prices and a pick-up in demand. East Coast distillate stocks regained some weight last week after slumping to multi-year lows earlier this month. The sub-region where New York and New Jersey are located saw a slight 0.5% uptick.

Central America and Caribbean

VLSFO and LSMGO availability has improved some in Panama after weeks of tightness. HSFO can be tight with some suppliers. Two suppliers can deliver with 5-7 days of lead time.

A supplier has run out of VLSFO to offer off Trinidad, pushing its earliest delivery date back to late May as it needs to reload product. LSMGO is more readily available. Another supplier can deliver in 6-7 days off Trinidad or in port, but has pockets of unavailability until early June after that.

South America

Low sulphur grades are tight for prompt dates in Ecuador’s Guayaquil, where a supplier’s earliest delivery date is 6-9 days out.

Colombia’s Cartagena has also had tight supply of VLSFO and LSMGO amid a lack of access to blend stocks, sources say.

Tropical Cyclone Yakecan hit the ports of Rio Grande and Paranagua on Tuesday, forcing them shut. Winds blew up to 35 knots in Rio Grande and brought heavy swells, according to shipping agent Orion. Pilot services and most port operations were also halted.

Winds have since calmed, but seas remain choppy in the two southern Brazilian bunker ports. The earliest dates for delivery are around 4-5 days out.

Strong winds hit Zona Comun and forced a halt to bunker operations for about 13 hours from Tuesday evening to yesterday morning. Calmer winds allowed bunkering to resume. Availability is tight with certain suppliers that require around 11 days of lead time. Others can deliver in 5-6 days.

The earliest delivery date is slightly further away, at six days, in nearby Bahia Blanca.

Photo credit: ENGINE
Published: 20 May, 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