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IBIA: Changes afoot

Increased willingness at latest IMO ISWG-GHG sessions to develop fuel lifecycle assessment guidelines that account for well to wake GHG emissions, says IBIA director.
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The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) on Friday (10 June) published an article by IBIA director, Unni Einemo, who writes about the growing appetite towards maritime decarbonisation and the introduction of a GHG fuel standard, amongst others:

Is there appetite for change in the marine fuels and shipping industry? There are signs that there is.

The IBIA Board of Directors and Secretariat has seen a number of changes recently. Since the last issue of World Bunkering, Henrik Zederkof’s allotted time as our Chair has come to an end. He showed exceptional drive and commitment to the focus areas he outlined for IBIA in 2020. We are lucky to have another driven individual step into the role; Timothy Cosulich, who became the Chair on 1 April this year. In his first Chair’s Letter for World Bunkering, he sets out the Association’s goals for the year ahead.

Work set in motion two years ago continues. We have set up two out of five planned Regional Boards, one for Asia and one for Africa. This allow issues specific to each region to be more thoroughly examined. Also continuing is a focus on decarbonisation, to ensure our industry understands what’s coming and plays a part in necessary changes. Our work on bunker licensing and Mass Flow Meters also continues. A new area of focus outlined by Timothy is integrity, with an initial task to update and strengthen the IBIA Code of Ethics.

Some of these areas are underpinned by the desire for improving transparency in our sector. But what exactly does ‘transparency’ mean? I think it is about building an environment where stakeholders feel comfortable and confident in their dealings with each other. Confidence that they are treated fairly. It means putting in place mechanisms that help build trust, where good practices are rewarded and bad practices are penalised.

Our Licensing and MFM Working Group have just completed analysis of a joint IBIA and BIMCO survey into industry experiences and attitudes. You can read about the key findings in this issue. Two things stand out to me: The percentage of deliveries associated with disputes about quantity (1.61%) and quality (0.98%) was relatively low, yet a clear majority of respondents were in favour of bunker licensing programmes and MFMs as tools to improve transparency and trust in the bunker supply industry. Respondents included a large share of traders and suppliers, over half of the total, so it isn’t just bunker buyers that want this.

When it comes to decarbonisation, I am also witnessing growing appetite for taking steps to get this major transition underway, both in the industry and among Member States at the IMO. The latest IMO intersessional working groups on greenhouse gases (ISWG-GHG) have signalled increasing willingness to develop fuel lifecycle assessment (LCA) guidelines that will take well to wake GHG emissions into account as a basis for new regulatory moves to cut shipping’s GHG emissions. At the moment, regulations account only for tank to wake emissions. I am also seeing agreement emerging that the IMO must put a price on CO2 or CO2 equivalents, though exactly how this will be done still needs to be worked out. And there is growing support for introducing a GHG fuel standard to gradually increase the share of low carbon or renewable fuels used by shipping; which I believe is a crucial regulatory signal to ensure that there will be demand for such fuels even if the price is high.

There is even willingness among shipping organisations and IMO Member States to push for a net-zero GHG target by 2050, when the IMO revises its GHG strategy in 2023. This is a huge commitment compared to the 50% reduction agreed in the initial strategy in 2018.

We all know that stakeholders need to work together to help us reach GHG reduction goals. To that effect, IBIA has recently signed a Coalition partner contract with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), and we hope this partnership will be a positive way of ensuring we’re all pulling (or pushing) in the same direction without too much duplication of effort.

I mentioned changes in the IBIA Secretariat. The Regional Manager for IBIA Asia, Alex Tang, left us in April to take up a new position with Intertek Lintec. At the end of April, Noraini Binte Salim left her position as Office Manager for IBIA Asia for family reasons. We are grateful to both for their hard work and dedication to IBIA. As this issue goes to print, we are in the process of recruiting their replacements and look forward to welcoming them to the team.

 

Photo credit and source: International Bunker Industry Association
Published: 13 June, 2022

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Bunker Fuel

Alkagesta highlights key insights of Malta bunkering market in 2026

Darren Lee Axisa discusses the key trends influencing Malta’s bunkering market and the factors that will determine Malta’s long-term competitiveness as a regional bunkering hub.
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July 22, 2026

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Alkagesta highlights key insights of Malta bunkering market in 2026

In an article published on Alkagesta Market Insights, Darren Lee Axisa, Malta Country Manager of Alkagesta, on Monday (20 July) discussed the key trends influencing Malta’s bunkering market and the factors that will determine Malta’s long-term competitiveness as a regional bunkering hub: 

Malta’s bunkering and energy market is moving through a period of structural adjustment. The disruptions that defined the first half of 2026 have accelerated shifts in product demand, terminal strategy, and the competitive dynamics of one of the Mediterranean’s most strategically positioned bunkering hubs. For Alkagesta, whose storage footprint on the island approaches 300,000 cubic metres, the period has tested operational flexibility while reinforcing the value of diversified infrastructure access.

A Market Shifting in Two Directions

Malta’s broader economy has remained resilient — GDP growth reached 3.9% in Q1 2026 — but the bunkering market has undergone a significant product mix shift, the roots of which predate the current geopolitical disruption.

The Mediterranean Emission Control Area, which came into force on 1 May 2025, triggered an immediate and measurable realignment in fuel demand across the region. VPS data covering the first six months post-ECA implementation shows that across the top ten Mediterranean bunkering ports, VLSFO volumes fell 23%, MGO more than doubled, ULSFO quadrupled, and biofuels increased fivefold. In Valletta specifically, the shift was even more pronounced: VLSFO dropped 57% from 111,641 mt to 47,732 mt, while MGO volumes more than tripled from 33,299 mt to 103,445 mt, and ULSFO rose from 2,821 mt to 34,535 mt over the same period.

This structural rotation has been further accelerated by the broader regulatory environment. FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS requirements are pushing shipowners toward cleaner, verifiable fuel options at every port call — a direction Alkagesta had already positioned itself ahead of, having been among the first movers in the Mediterranean to support the transition to 0.1% sulphur fuel oil following the ECA’s introduction.

Layered on top of this regulatory shift has been a period of reduced terminal capacity affecting bunkering market availability across the island. Fuel oil volumes dropped roughly 35% year-on-year between January and May 2026, falling from approximately 382,000 mt in 2025 to 247,000 mt. DMA demand moved sharply in the opposite direction, rising from around 150,000 mt in January to April 2025 to 247,000 mt over the same period in 2026 — a trend consistent with both the ECA-driven product mix shift and the disruption to heavier fuel availability during the constrained period.

Note: The full article can be read here. 

 

Photo credit: Alkagesta
Published: 22 July, 2026

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Technology

Singapore: Ofiniti, ONE trial direct platform integration to streamline bunker workflows

Ofiniti started a trial in Singapore, integrating FuelBoss directly with a bunker buyer’s own platform, with Ocean Network Express as its first buyer-side integration partner.

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July 22, 2026

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Singapore: Ofiniti, ONE trial direct platform integration to streamline bunker workflows

Ofiniti, the digital platform for maritime fuel operations, on Tuesday (21 July) said it has started a trial in Singapore, integrating FuelBoss directly with a bunker buyer’s own platform.

The company announced Singapore-headquartered container shipping firm Ocean Network Express (ONE) as its first buyer-side integration partner. 

“It is no coincidence we start in Singapore, as the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) remains at the forefront of digitalisation of all things bunkering,” the company said in a social media post.

In November 2023, MPA launched its digital bunkering platform, becoming the world’s first port to implement e-BDN. 

Ofiniti said every bunker delivery still runs on retyped data. 

“The buyer’s system says one thing, the supplier says another, and someone reconciles the gap by email, phone, or PDF. On every stem,” the company said. 

“We built FuelBoss to change this reality.”

With the integration, operational data now flows without manual re-entry, fewer reconciliation errors and faster processing and data, instead of documents, are readily available for procurement and claims workflows. 

“One connection will not transform the industry on its own, but digitalisation gets built one integration at a time. We are grateful to ONE for being willing to go first,” Ofiniti added.

Manifold Times previously reported ONE completing its successful trial of the electronic Bunker Delivery Note (e-BDN) with Shell. 

The e-BDN trial, using the digital bunkering solution developed by Angsana Technology, was conducted on 9 September 2023 at the Port of Singapore, with support from the MPA.

In March 2025, Ofiniti acquired Singapore-based Angsana Technology, with the entire Angsana team joining Ofiniti as part of the acquisition.

Related: MPA Chief Executive: Port of Singapore begins digital bunkering initiative today
Related: Singapore set to become first port in the world to debut electronic bunker delivery notes
Related: ONE completes e-BDN adoption trial with Shell in Port of Singapore
Related: Ofiniti acquires Singapore-based Angsana Technology to advance digital bunkering solutions

 

Photo credit: Ofiniti
Published: 22 July, 2026

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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.

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July 21, 2026

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RESIZED Sora Shimazaki on Pexels

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.

Related: Singapore: Hin Leong Founder OK Lim gets jail term slashed to 13.5 years

 

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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