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Singapore: Coastal Oil hearings progress, court grants liquidators access to Sinfeng documents

Sinfeng Marine Services filed an application to the Court of Appeal to withhold information from the liquidators on October 2019; the appeal was dismissed a month later.

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A hearing between lawyers representing Sinfeng Marine Services Pte Ltd and the liquidators of the defunct bunkering firm Coastal Oil Singapore Pte Ltd has been scheduled to take placed at the Court of Appeal in the High Court of the Republic of Singapore on Thursday (11 June).

The main focus of the upcoming hearing, amongst others, is to allow the liquidators of Coastal Oil Singapore to “adduce further evidence” in their debt recovery work through the disclosure of certain documents from Sinfeng, according to documents obtain by Manifold Times from the court.

The legal team of Cosco Petroleum Pte Ltd and Costank (S) Pte Ltd will also be present at the hearing.

The liquidators are seeking for the disclosure of information under Section 285 of the Companies Act from Sinfeng. In summary, the section allows a liquidator to obtain information and documents from entities related to the insolvent company’s (i.e. Coastal Oil Singapore) affairs.

Sinfeng had earlier filed an application to the Court of Appeal to withhold information from the liquidators on October 2019, as information shared will affect the company’s standing in another court case which the same liquidators are involved in, said its lawyers.

“Once the Plaintiffs [liquidators] are privy to the information, the Plaintiffs cannot “un-see” the documents and erase the information from their heads,” the legal team said, while adding in another paragraph that “there are significant practical difficulties in the policing of the Plaintiffs’ compliance with the undertakings. This is detrimental to the Defendant [Sinfeng].”

“If the Defendant’s appeal is successful, the Plaintiffs say that they will return or destroy the documents and not rely on the information,” added Sinfeng’s lawyers.

“Quite apart from the key point mentioned above that it is not possible to unwind the process, what this means is that all of the work that the Plaintiffs would have been done in vain and the Plaintiffs would have incurred all of these costs at the expense of the general body of unsecured creditors (which includes the Defendant).”

Sinfeng’s application to the Court of Appeal was later dismissed on November 2019.

The High Court of the Republic of Singapore on October 2019 granted China Merchants Bank Co Ltd access to relevant case documents from Sinfeng in support of its debt recovery under a loan facility to Coastal Oil Singapore.

Hong Kong-listed COSCO SHIPPING International (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd has stated its indirect wholly-owned bunkering subsidiary Sinfeng suspects fraud to be involved in the recent liquidation of Coastal Oil Singapore.

It is believed Coastal Oil Singapore owes approximately US $357 million to 79 firms. Out of the total US $357 million, banks were the hardest hit taking up about US $354 million, or 99.1%, of total credit owed.

A complete coverage of the events leading to the current development has been arranged by Singapore bunker publication Manifold Times (in descending date order) below:

Related: China Merchants Bank legal suit with Sinfeng over alleged $13 million debt progresses
RelatedFraud suspected in Coastal Oil Singapore case, says COSCO
RelatedCoastal Logistics owned “Atalanta”, “Babylon” to undergo auction
RelatedSingapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Mercury” arrested
RelatedHeng Tong Fuels & Shipping in court over DBS Bank bunker tanker loan
RelatedCoastal Logistics owned MR tanker “Babylon” arrested
RelatedFraud suspected in Coastal Oil Singapore case, says COSCO
RelatedCoastal Oil Singapore: Creditor list surfaces in bunker market
RelatedSingapore: Bunker tanker “Coastal Neptune” arrested
RelatedCoastal Oil Singapore creditors meeting scheduled on 10 Jan
RelatedCoastal Oil Singapore in US $380 million debt to at least 10 banks
RelatedSingapore: Coastal Logistics owned MR tanker “Atalanta” arrested
RelatedHeng Tong Fuels & Shipping, Coastal Logistics tankers enter S&P market
RelatedCoastal Oil Singapore to hold creditors meeting on 28 Dec
RelatedBreaking news: Coastal Oil Singapore under liquidation

 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 10 June, 2020

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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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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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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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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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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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