Business

ENGINE: East of Suez Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Demand improves in Hong Kong; several South Korean ports face weather disruptions; availability tight across grades in Fujairah.

Published

3 years ago

March 29, 2023

Admin

ENGINE East of Suez Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

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:

28 March 2023

Demand improves in Hong Kong
Several South Korean ports face weather disruptions
Availability tight across grades in Fujairah

Singapore

Availability of VLSFO and HSFO has been getting tighter in Singapore, with recommended lead times increasing from 7-9 days last week to 8-11 days now.

LSMGO availability remains normal in the port. But lead times have gone up slightly from 3-5 days previously to 4-7 days now.

Singapore’s residual fuel oil stocks have averaged 1% higher so far this month than in February, according to Enterprise Singapore. Net fuel oil imports to Singapore have risen 14% so far this month and are at a six-month high. Imports have risen by 14%, while exports have increased by 13%.

Singapore’s middle distillate stocks have swelled by 21% so far this month over February levels.

East Asia

Lead times of 3-5 days are recommended for VLSFO in Zhoushan, and around 5-7 days are required for HSFO. Availability of LSMGO remains good, with prompt dates available – unchanged from the end of last week.

Bad weather might disrupt bunkering in Zhoushan on Thursday.

Swells of up to a metre are forecast to hit Hong Kong between 5-6 April, which may hamper bunkering operations there.

Availability of all grades remains normal in Hong Kong, while demand has been improving, a source says. Lead times of around seven days are recommended, which is virtually the same as they have been over the last couple of weeks.

Bunker supplier CPC has taken an HSFO-carrying bunker barge out of operation for maintenance in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung. HSFO supply has been put on hold until May, when the barge is expected back in operation.

Demand has been improving slightly across South Korean ports, a source says. Lead times in the country’s southern ports have gone up to 7-11 days, from 4-8 days previously. Meanwhile, lead times for all grades have shortened to 3-4 days in western South Korean ports, from 4-8 days last week.

Rough seas are forecast in South Korean ports of Ulsan, Onsan and Yeosu between 30 March and 1 April, and thick fog has been forecast in Daesan and Taean from today onwards. This might disrupt bunkering in the ports.

Adverse weather conditions are also predicted to hamper bunker operations in the Thai port of Koh Sichang between 2-4 April, and the Kiwi port of Tauranga between 29-30 March.

South Asia

Mumbai has good availability of VLSFO and LSMGO, with prompt dates available.

VLSFO and LSMGO can be delivered with around 2-3 days of lead time in several Indian ports, including Kandla on the northwest coast, Cochin and Chennai on the southern coast, and Visakhapatnam on the southwestern coast.

Availability is subject to enquiry in Tuticorin on India’s southeast coast and in Haldia on the eastern coast.

However, bad weather might disrupt bunkering in India’s west coast ports of Kandla and Sikka between 3-4 April, a source says.

A supplier can offer both VLSFO and LSMGO in the Sri Lankan ports of Colombo and Trincomalee, with prompt dates available.

Middle East

All three grades are in tight availability in Fujairah. Lead times of VLSFO have increased from six days last week to around 10 days now. HSFO stems need around 13 days now – up from seven previously, while LSMGO requires 11 days – almost double the six days advised last week.

By Tuhin Roy

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 29 March, 2023

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