Business

ENGINE: Americas Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Prompt supply mostly tight across US ports; availability remains tight in Panama; Houston Ship Channel congestion build-up.

Published

4 years ago

December 9, 2022

Admin

ENGINE East of Suez Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

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:

8 December 2022

Prompt supply mostly tight across US ports
Availability remains tight in Panama
Houston Ship Channel congestion build-up

North America

All grades are tight for prompt dates in the Houston area and off the US Gulf Coast. Lead times of 5-7 days are generally recommended in Houston to ensure full coverage from suppliers.

Thick fog and reduced visibility has caused intermittent closures of the Houston Ship Channel, and led to significant vessel backlogs and congestion, sources say. Some suppliers are not quoting for prompt stems in order to clear bunker backlogs.

Bunker demand in Houston is said to have slowed this week after growing steadily in the recent weeks. Some sources say that while Brent and bunker prices have slumped to multi-month lows, some buyers have been holding back on enquiries in anticipation of further price declines. The slowing demand in Houston could continue into next week, a source say.

Houston’s HSFO and VLSFO benchmarks are down to one-year lows. Its LSMGO benchmark has declined to a 10-month low.

Similarly, availability of all grades is tight in New York. Recommended lead times for VLSFO and LSMGO are about 6-8 days, and prompter supply can be hard to find. One supplier can deliver VLSFO and LSMGO stems from 15 December onwards, a source says.

All grades remain tight for prompt dates in the West Coast ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. A longer lead time of at least 10-15 days is generally recommended to ensure full coverage from all suppliers. One supplier can supply VLSFO and LSMGO in Long Beach with a slightly shorter lead time of nine days, a source says.

VLSFO and LSMGO grades are tight for prompt dates in San Francisco. One supplier requires at least 6-8 days of lead time.

Bunker fuel availability is tight for prompt dates in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA). Two suppliers can deliver VLSFO and LSMGO stems in GOLA between 15-18 December, while a host of others have limited to no product available.

Bunker availability remains steady for all fuel grades in Mexico’s Manzanillo as it has been in the past several weeks. Recommended lead times for HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO are about five days out, but prompter stems can be accommodated.

Caribbean and Latin America

All grades are tight for prompt dates in Panama’s Balboa and Cristobal. Recommended lead times for VLSFO and LSMGO are about 6-8 days out. Some suppliers can accommodate prompt LSMGO stems of smaller quantities, a source says.

Securing HSFO can be trickier in both Balboa and Cristobal and longer lead times are generally recommended.

LSMGO availability is tight off Trinidad, where a supplier is running low on stock. VLSFO is more readily available with the supplier and requires five days of lead time.

Bunker fuel availability is normal in Colombian ports. One supplier in Colombia’s Cartagena and Santa Marta can supply VLSFO and LSMGO for prompt dates, a trader says.

VLSFO availability is tight in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, where one supplier requires at least two weeks of lead time, sources say.

All grades are tight for prompt dates at the Zona Comun anchorage in Argentina. LSMGO is particularly tighter as several suppliers are running low on stock. One supplier can deliver LSMGO stems from 18 December onwards. Lead times of 7-8 days are recommended for VLSFO.

By Nithin Chandran

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 9 December, 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

13 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

13 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

13 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