Business

ENGINE: Europe & Africa Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

HSFO380 supply has tightened in Malta, and weather disruptions are expected to delay bunkering further in Las Palmas and Algoa Bay this week.

Published

5 years ago

September 30, 2021

Admin

The following article regarding Europe and Africa bunker fuel availability outlook has been provided by online marine fuel procurement platform ENGINE for publication on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

29 September, 2021

HSFO380 supply has tightened in Malta, and weather disruptions are expected to delay bunkering further in Las Palmas and Algoa Bay this week.

Bunker fuels are generally in good availability across European and African bunkering ports, but there are some pockets of tightness, and rough weather disrupting deliveries.

Suppliers in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region and other northern European ports can deliver prompt stems of VLSFO, LSMGO and HSFO380. No significant shortages have been reported.

Fuel oil imports from Russia, Poland and Scandinavian countries helped grow independent ARA fuel oil inventories by 9% last week. Stock levels have come up to five-week highs of 7.70 million bbls, according to Insights Global data.

Another weekly draw for ARA’s gasoil stocks has left less than 15 million bbls in storage for the first time since the start of the pandemic, which saw a massive build in March and April.

VLSFO supplies have tightened with several suppliers in Istanbul and boosted prices against other regional ports. Its price has swung to a premium over Piraeus, and widened its premium over Novorossiysk to $70/mt. There are no immediate prospects for when the Turkish suppliers will replenish stocks.

VLSFO prices in Istanbul, Piraeus and Novorossiysk since 1 August

Engine data

A supplier has run out of HSFO380 to supply in Malta, and can only offer smaller clips of the grade for delivery around two weeks out. Malta does not have any domestic refineries. Bunker suppliers rely on imported cargoes to supply from either off Malta’s islands or in its ports.

HSFO380 is still available from another supplier in Malta, but Malta’s price for the grade has gone up to premiums of around $9-12/mt over Gibraltar and Algeciras. Malta’s price rose above the two Gibraltar Strait ports last week.

HSFO380 prices in Malta, Gibraltar and Algeciras since 1 September

Capture Engine

Bunker fuels are generally in good stock across other Mediterranean ports, but spells of bad weather are set to disrupt bunkering in certain ports this week.

Congestion has built in Gibraltar, where seven vessels were in line waiting for bunker barges to become ready to supply them on Wednesday morning, MH Bland says. Two suppliers are delayed by around half a day.

Some of the vessels may have been booked to Gibraltar instead of Las Palmas, which has been pummelled by high swells and seen bunkering restricted to inner anchorage. Certain suppliers have been delayed by at least a day.

Las Palmas is forecast with strong swells until Sunday, which could put significant pressure on the more limited space in the port’s inner anchorage, and potentially push deliveries to Gibraltar Strait ports and Tenerife.

Swells were forecast to push above 2.5 metres also in Tenerife on Wednesday, but as they come in from the north, the port is likely to be sheltered in its location on the southern side of Tenerife island.

HSFO380 can be in tight supply for prompt delivery dates in the Canary Islands, with fewer suppliers stocking the grade than in the Gibraltar Strait.

Bunkering was called off in Algoa Bay on Monday morning because of strong winds and swell. Operations have resumed to allow bunker suppliers to work through backlogged deliveries.

Another bout of strong winds and swells is forecast to hit the South African anchorage location from Thursday. Shipping agent Sturrock Grindrod expects bunkering to be suspended again.

Photo credit: ENGINE
Published: 30 September, 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