Business

ENGINE: East of Suez Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Singapore’s bunker market remains tight amid persistent barge loading delays, while prompt
availability has improved in Fujairah this week.

Published

5 years ago

December 8, 2021

Admin

The following article regarding regional bunker fuel availability outlook for the East of Suez region has been provided by online marine fuels procurement platform ENGINE for publication on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

7 December, 2021

Singapore’s bunker market remains tight amid persistent barge loading delays, while prompt availability has improved in Fujairah this week.

Bunker fuel availability remains tight in Singapore amid lingering terminal congestion and delayed barge loadings. Recommended lead times for VLSFO and LSMGO are 9-11 days and 7-9 days out, respectively. HSFO380 lead times are also steady on the week at 10-12 days.

Singapore’s fuel oil inventories have been drawn to their lowest levels since late September amid a sharp decrease in net imports, according to the latest Enterprise Singapore data.

Large fuel oil cargoes were shipped from Singapore to China in the week, and volumes also went to South Korea, Japan, Bangladesh and Malaysia, according to cargo tracking. Singapore mostly imported fuel oil from Brazil and Fujairah, while also from Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia.

At the same time, Fujairah’s prompt bunker availability has improved slightly on the week. The port’s earliest delivery dates for all fuel grades have been brought forward to about five days out, down from eight days last week, when a supplier run out of product.

Fujairah’s fuel oil and heavy distillate inventories grew by 30% in the week to 29 November, when they measured 11.91 million bbls, the latest data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) and S&P Global Platts shows.

Bunker operations have been running smoothly in Zhoushan since weather suspensions at the Xiu Shandong anchorage at the start of last week. Incoming fuel oil cargoes have replenished suppliers’ stocks. Recommended lead times of 2-3 days for VLSFO and LSMGO in Zhoushan are much shorter compared to Singapore.

Zhoushan’s HSFO380 inventories could also be bolstered by a cargo that is set to arrive on 9 December, according to cargo tracking.

Meanwhile, the government of China recently granted “Shanghai and Guangzhou the right of bonded bunkering permission for ships on international voyages” in a bid to make prices more competitive and “attract international sailing ships.”

Bonded bunkering is a value added tax (VAT) rebate.

In February 2020, China wavered its 13% VAT on fuel oil for bunker sales to internationally trading Chinese and foreign ships in several coastal ports, including the burgeoning bunker hub of Zhoushan. The country sought to make prices more competitive with Singapore and other major ports to attract demand.

Photo credit: ENGINE
Published: 8 December, 2021

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

19 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

19 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

19 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