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KPI OceanConnect: Five Reflections On IMO 2020

‘The bunker price volatility this year […] is a textbook example of why it pays to consult with your marine fuels supplier to help manage this risk,’ says CEO Søren Høll.
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Soren Hall KPI Ocean Connect Reflections

Søren Høll, CEO at International bunker trading firm KPI OceanConnect, on Tuesday (18 August) published an article sharing his reflections on regulations and other unforeseen market dynamics in 2020 have disrupted the bunker fuel market, and outlines the relevance of his company’s role in weathering these forces: 

IMO 2020, or ‘MARPOL Annex VI, regulation 14’ as it was less memorably known back when we started preparing for it in 2018, was always going to bring huge changes for shipping.

For some people it was even going to be as substantial as ships’ switch from coal to oil in the early 20th century. Those predictions have fortunately proven to be unfounded so far, but there hasn’t been any shortage of challenges for our industry in the wake of IMO 2020’s arrival.

 During the last few weeks as we’ve been concluding our merger with OceanConnect and I’ve had a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come this year.

 –      It’s easy to forget that crude prices started to slide not only because of Covid-19 in February and March, but also due to disagreements within OPEC+ about how much oil they should produce. Covid-19 has reduced demand for oil, and created a huge glut of both crude and refined products. Even if a vaccine emerges soon, we’re unlikely to see this oversupply abate entirely; not least because countries like Venezuela, Libya, and Iran with huge crude reserves are currently ‘offline.’

–      At times in January it looked as though shipowners who’d invested in scrubbers for their fleets could see payback periods of less than two years in some cases. By March, however, the spread between 3.5% HSFO and 0.5% VLSFO dropped to as low as $40 a tonne from over $300, and payback periods are now commonly assumed to be at least four or five years. We’re unlikely to see sustained interest for retrofitting scrubbers as long as the spread remains low. On newbuilds, I’m slightly more optimistic about positive economics.

–      By common estimates, the three biggest cruise lines, Carnival, Norwegian, and RCCL together on average consumed about half a million tons of bunkers each month in 2019. For context, that’s more than 10% greater than total fuel sales of Panama registered by the AMP. Especially for physical suppliers in cruise hotspots like the Caribbean, which supports about a third of global cruise voyages, bunker demand is unlikely to return in full before 2022 at the earliest.

–      The bunker price volatility we’ve seen this year – and in many previous years – is a textbook example of why it pays to consult with your marine fuels supplier to help manage this risk. I was talking to a longstanding client last week, and for her there are three big advantages to be gained from  hedging and risk management: Reduced volatility reduces cost of capital; knowing there will be no abrupt cost increases means that they can more easily plan ahead; and by smoothing out revenue and expenses they know they won’t need to borrow on unfavourable terms because they’ve got good liquidity.

 The merging of KPI Bridge Oil and OceanConnect brings together a wealth of knowledge and expertise, new ideas and ways of thinking, and a renewed energy to a changing marketplace. There’s no shortage of challenges ahead for the shipping or bunkering markets, but I’m very optimistic about the company we’re building and the value we can provide. 


Photo credit: KPI OceanConnect
Published: 20 August, 2020

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Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.
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June 19, 2026

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Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

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June 19, 2026

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A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.
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June 19, 2026

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MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

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