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Methanol Institute calls for prioritisation of well-to-wake accounting of GHG emissions

Industry association sets out policy position ahead of autumn environmental meetings that will set direction for sustainable marine fuels.
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The Methanol Institute (MI) on Monday (23 August) said it is calling on maritime policy-makers to adopt a ‘well-to-wake’ approach in GHG accounting of fuels to support the decarbonisation of maritime transport. Details are as follows:

The recent release of the European Union’s plans for maritime emissions trading will be followed later this year by IMO MEPC 77 meeting and COP 26, both of which will intensify the pressure on governments to put viable fuel choices in the hands of shipowners. 

MI believes an approach that accounts for GHG emissions of the fuel’s entire value chain is essential to stimulate the uptake of renewable fuels that can drive the maritime industry’s energy transition. 

Applying a well-to-wake approach in GHG accounting of maritime transport has four important implications for shipping. First, it would provide an investment signal and foster innovation in renewable power generation and avoid transferring the reallocation of GHG emissions to upstream fuel production processes.

Second, the burden of decarbonisation would belong to the entire maritime sector rather than to shipowners alone. Third, it will enable the industry to respond to fast-approaching regulatory targets and adopt sustainable fuels without delay and lastly, policy should incorporate incentives as well as present investment signals.

“The tank-to-wake approach currently used by IMO undisputedly places the burden of GHG emissions solely on ship owners and it implies that to achieve decarbonisation, they are held wholly responsible for ensuring decarbonisation of the sector,” says Gregory Dolan, Chief Executive Officer of Methanol Institute. 

“A well-to-wake approach would share the burden with fuel suppliers, power generators, port authorities and national governments – we can’t just look at what happens in the engine room and ignore how the fuel got into the ship’s bunkers in the first place.”

The MI policy paper includes an analysis of the consequences of focussing purely on tank to wake or ‘operational’ emissions. By granting vessels propelled by ammonia or hydrogen from natural gas ‘zero-emission’ status, policy-makers ignore the fact that they emit more than GHG any of the other potential alternative fuels.

 If policymakers truly intend to apply a metric to GHG emissions which reflects reality instead of a false impression of progress, the well-to-wake approach represents the only viable path forward.

“The approach for calculating well-to-wake emissions based on fuel consumption is well established, as Lifecycle Assessment is frequently applied across different sectors to assess true environmental impact,” says Matthias Ólafsson, MI Manager of Government and Public Affairs, Europe. 

“Shipping doesn’t have the luxury of waiting for as yet unavailable fuel technologies to reach technical readiness, regulatory approval and availability when clean fuels are already available now for existing vessels and newbuilds, are readily traded on digital fuel platforms, and are available in low carbon formats.”

To download a full copy of the report Measuring Maritime Emissions, Policy recommendations regarding GHG accounting of the maritime industry, please visit: www.methanol.org/marine/

 

Photo credit: Methanol Institute
Published: 24 August, 2021

 

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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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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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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.

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July 21, 2026

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RESIZED Drew Beamer

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.

Related: Singapore: Director declares Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping’s inability to continue business
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
Related: Singapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
Related: Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market

 

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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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.

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July 21, 2026

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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

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