Business

ENGINE: Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Panama’s HSFO priced at discount to Houston; suppliers in GOLA brace for upcoming bad weather; prompt supply still tight off Trinidad.

Published

4 years ago

October 21, 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:

20 October 2022

Panama’s HSFO priced at discount to Houston
Suppliers in GOLA brace for upcoming bad weather
Prompt supply still tight off Trinidad

North America

Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO grades are readily available in the Houston area and off the US Gulf Coast. Both grades can be tight for very prompt dates (0-3 days) in New Orleans. The earliest delivery dates with a supplier in New Orleans are about four days out.

Several suppliers in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) have held back offers for prompt delivery dates and for dates further out due to tight schedules and bad weather.

Bad weather is forecast from Friday evening through to next Wednesday and can potentially trigger suspensions or disruptions. Two suppliers can offer VLSFO and LSMGO deliveries in GOLA from next Tuesday onwards if the weather permits, while another supplier can offer deliveries from 28 October, sources say.

Securing stems for prompt dates in Long Beach and Los Angeles can be tricky. The earliest delivery dates with some suppliers stretch out to early November.

LSMGO availability is normal in Miami’s Port Everglades. A supplier can offer the grade with lead times of 3-4 days.

Prompt supply is tight in Canada’s Montreal. The earliest expected delivery dates are between 7-9 days.

Availability continues to be steady across all grades in Mexico’s Manzanillo. Recommended lead times for HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO are about five days out.

Caribbean and Latin America

VLSFO and LSMGO can be tight for very prompt dates in Panama’s Balboa and Cristobal. Lead times of 5-8 days are recommended for getting broad coverage from suppliers in Balboa.

Meanwhile, some suppliers in Cristobal can offer both grades on a subject to enquiry basis, while the earliest delivery dates with another two suppliers are about five days. Both ports have been pricing HSFO competitively to Houston in recent days.

Bunker availability is tight off Trinidad, where a supplier can offer the earliest delivery of VLSFO from 26 October onwards. Lead times are comparatively shorter for deliveries in Trinidad’s ports.

Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO availability is tight in Argentina’s Zona Comun. A supplier can offer both grades with five days of lead times. Meanwhile, the earliest delivery dates in Bahai Blanca are about 5-6 days out.

Wind gusts of 20-33 knots are forecast in Zona Comun on Friday and Saturday and could trigger a bunker suspension or delays.

Availability of VLSFO and LSMGO is normal in Colombia’s Santa Marta. The earliest delivery date with a supplier there is about three days out.

By Nithin Chandran

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 21 October, 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