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Singapore: High Court grants former Integr8 Fuels Korean desk staff expedited ‘back to work’ status

Integr8 Fuel injunction varied by Singapore Court to allow former employees to start work at Hartree Group in December 2022 following failure to produce evidence on biofuels development plans.
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Singapore court

The General Division of The High Court of the Republic of Singapore on 16 December 2022 issued a Court Order allowing former Korean staff of bunker trading firm Integr8 Fuels Pte Ltd. (Integr8 Fuels) an expedited return to work.

Both were supposed to join commodities trading firm Hartree Group in October 2022 when Integr8 Fuels took its former Sales Director Kim Hyung Joon and ex-Senior Bunker Trader Han Donghoon (also known as Danny) to court over alleged confidentiality and competition infringement violations

Background

In court documents filed in October 2022, Integr8 Fuels claimed it discovered Mr Kim and Danny were planning to join the Hartree Group in October 2022 after the management of Integr8 Fuels, Navig8 Group and Hartree Group spoke in September 2022.

According to Integr8 Fuels, following this, the company conducted an investigation which revealed Mr Kim and Danny sending large amounts of information from their Intergr8 Fuels email addresses to their personal email accounts from June 2021 and September 2021 respectively onwards before leaving their former employer.

Integr8 Fuels later filed a “without notice” application on 26 October 2022 and obtained an interim injunction at a hearing on 28 October 2022 restraining Mr Kim and Danny, both unrepresented by a counsel at the time, from being involved in any businesses competing with the activities of Integr8 Fuels until 28 March 2023 and 13 April 2023 respectively.

Mr Kim and Danny were also restrained from using, disclosing and/or divulging to any third-party confidential information of Integr8 Fuels.

Latest court documents obtained by Manifold Times stated Mr Kim and Danny did not have an opportunity to address earlier allegations made by Integr8 Fuels at the 28 October 2022 hearing of the “without notice” application.

Since then, Mr Kim and Danny engaged counsel and thereafter filed an application to set aside / vary the interim injunction.

Company Email Accounts

In court papers seen by Manifold Times, Mr Kim and Danny, both experienced bunker traders prior to joining Integr8 Fuels, explained there was in fact no sinister or ill intent to steal confidential information before leaving Integr8 Fuels, as was suggested by Integr8 Fuels.

Instead, shortly after joining Integr8 Fuels in October 2020, as part of his work process, Mr Kim set up a macro on his office email account which auto-forwarded emails with certain keywords to his personal email account whenever he received emails from work email addresses.

Similarly, shortly after joining Integr8 Fuels in January 2021, Danny forwarded emails from his office email account to his personal email account and also vice versa (including to Mr Kim’s work email account) as part of his work process and due to the “laggy” IT set up at Integr8 Fuels.

Both Mr Kim and Danny, who provided documents to support their explanations, also agreed to delete all of the Integr8 Fuels emails from their personal email accounts to give Integr8 Fuels assurance there is no intention to misuse any information in the emails.

Inconsistent Restraint Periods

As to the length of the restraint period under the interim injunction (28 March and 13 April 2023) affecting Mr Kim and Danny respectively, both pointed out Integr8 Fuel’s position at the 28 October 2022 hearing was inconsistent with the position previously communicated to them.

Documents showed that, on 30 September 2022, prior to the commencement of legal action in late October 2022, Integr8 Fuels confirmed to Mr Kim and Danny in writing their restraint periods would end on 3 January 2023 and 25 January 2023 respectively.

Non-competition Clause

Separately, Mr Kim and Danny contended their intention to commence work with the Hartree Group in October 2022 did not amount to a breach of their non-competition provisions.

Mr Kim and Danny, who only traded in traditional marine fuels during their time at Integr8 Fuels, informed Integr8 Fuels in writing on 4 October 2022 that they intended to limit themselves to only being involved in the China and Asian biofuels markets except for Singapore and Korea for the period of their restraints.

Both further explained Integr8 Fuels had no proposed business plan to start trading or supplying biofuels within the last 12 months of their employment.

Integr8 Fuels Managing Director Tushar Gole, on the other hand, claimed “biofuels is an integral part of [Integr8 Fuels] portfolio”.

Finally, by reference to a screenshot of a conversation, Mr Kim contended Mr Gole knew as early as 5 July 2022 Mr Kim would be joining Hartree. Mr Kim contended Integr8 Fuels did not point out this out previously at the 28 October 2022 hearing because it did not fit into Integr8 Fuel’s narrative when it sought urgent injunctive relief on a “without notice” basis at the 28 October 2022 hearing.

Expedited Return to Work

On 16 December 2022, the Court heard Mr Kim’s and Danny’s application and varied Integr8 Fuels’ injunction to grant Mr Kim and Danny expedited “back to work” status.

The Court also varied the injunction to make clear Mr Kim and Danny are not restrained from using, disclosing and/or divulging to any third party any information which they were already privy to prior to them joining Integr8 Fuels and the Navig8 group of companies.

As part of its order on 16 December 2022, the Court gave Integr8 Fuels an opportunity to produce affidavit evidence by 21 December 2022 “demonstrating a transaction or genuine plans on biofuels” if it wished to restrain Mr Kim and Danny from being involved in biofuels until January 2023. Based on the court papers seen by Manifold Times, Integr8 Fuels did not produce such evidence.

As such, Mr Kim and Danny were able to be involved in biofuels from 22 December 2022 onwards and are now expected to be back in the market from 4 January and 26 January 2023 onwards respectively, as per their stated intention to Integr8 Fuels on 4 October 2022.

Related: Singapore: Integr8 Fuels files lawsuit against former Korean staff over alleged confidentiality violations

 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 20 January, 2022

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Legal

Singapore: Bunker Partner succeeds in High Court bid to wind up Victory Shipping

Estonia-based marine fuels and commodities trading company Bunker Partner filed a winding up application against Victory Shipping on 13 April.

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June 26, 2026

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Singapore: Estonian firm Bunker Partner files bid to wind up of Victory Shipping

The High Court of Singapore granted a winding up order against Victory Shipping Pte Ltd on 12 June, according to a Thursday (25 June) notice on the Government Gazette. 

The winding up application was filed by Estonia-based marine fuels and commodities trading company Bunker Partner on 13 April.

Victory Shipping, with representations in Malaysia, India and the U.A.E., operates dry bulk shipping contracts around the globe with voyages performed mainly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The winding up order also included the following name and address of a liquidator:

Mr Farooq Ahmad Mann
C/o M/s Mann & Associates PAC
3 Shenton Way #03-06C
Shenton House
Singapore 068805

The notice noted that all creditors of the Victory Shipping should file their proof of debt with the liquidator who will be administering all the affairs of the company. 

Manifold Times previously reported a virtual hearing between Victory Shipping and Integr8 Fuels Pte Ltd, organised by the High Court of the Republic of Singapore.

The event was to set aside a statutory demand served on 3 October 2025 by Integr8 Fuels lawyers under Section 125(2)(c) and Section 10 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (IRDA) against Victory Shipping, according to court documents obtained by the bunkering publication.

Integr8 Fuels provides bunker trading and brokerage services to shipowners and operators that enables them to optimise fuel procurement.

Related: Singapore: Court to hear Bunker Partner’s winding-up bid against Victory Shipping on 12 June
Related: Singapore: Estonian firm Bunker Partner files bid to wind up Victory Shipping
Related: Singapore: Victory Shipping aiming to set aside bankruptcy court process from Integr8 Fuels

 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 26 June, 2026

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FuelEU

Hafnia Pools surpasses 170 vessels, achieves FuelEU Maritime compliance

In announcing the company’s Q1 2026 financial results, it said five vessels joined Hafnia Pools during the first quarter of the year, bringing the total number of Pool Partners to 24 across segments.
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Hafnia Pools surpasses 170 vessels, achieves FuelEU Maritime compliance

Singapore-headquartered tanker operator Hafnia on Wednesday (24 June) the company closed Q1 2026 with more than 170 vessels trading across its pool platform.

In announcing the company’s Q1 2026 financial results, it said five vessels joined Hafnia Pools during the first quarter of the year, bringing the total number of Pool Partners to 24 across segments.

Since November 2025, vessels entering the Pools have had an average age of six years or younger, further strengthening the competitiveness and earnings capability of the platform. 

This continued inflow of modern tonnage supports Hafnia’s focus on maintaining an efficient and attractive fleet profile, while enhancing the long-term value proposition for Pool Partners.

In Hafnia’s MR Pool, six owners now each have three or more vessels committed.

During Q1 2026, Hafnia Pools successfully met the EU’s FuelEU Maritime requirements for 2025. Across the Pool, 108 vessels collectively exceeded the emissions limits; however, by working together under a “pooling” system, this was balanced out. By using cleaner vessels, biofuel, and purchased emissions credits, the Pools avoided penalties and achieved meaningful cost savings for partners.

This outcome reflects strong collaboration across Hafnia’s commercial, operational, and compliance teams, as well as constructive engagement with all Document of Compliance holders as regulations such as FuelEU come into full force.

In June 2026, Hafnia Pools further strengthened Partner engagement and alignment through its bi-annual Pool Board meeting, taking place during Posidonia in Greece.

Peter Kolding, VP Chartering Regional Trades & Pool Management, said: “As we move further into 2026, our focus remains on delivering consistent commercial results, strengthening the value proposition for all Pool Partners, and continuing to build on the close cooperation between our Chartering and Operations teams that underpins the success of the Hafnia Pools.

“I am encouraged to see that our commercial performance and efforts in staying close to our partners are paying off as we enjoy growing support from many of those same partners. It indicates that we are on the right path and energizes us to continue doing everything we can to improve even further.”

 

Photo credit: Hafnia
Published: 26 June, 2026

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Digital platform

VPS debuts VeriSphere Webshop, enhancing digital access to marine fuel solutions

Key addition is the MySurveys application, designed to support bunker quantity survey processes by providing detailed insights into quantity losses, density variations, and bunkering performance.
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June 26, 2026

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VPS debuts VeriSphere Webshop, enhancing digital access to marine fuel solutions

Marine fuels testing company VPS on Thursday (25 June) announced the launch of its VeriSphere Webshop, a major step forward in the evolution of its digital platform and customer experience.

The new webshop provides customers with direct, self-service access to a growing portfolio of VPS products and services, including digital applications, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and sampling equipment; enabling faster, more flexible engagement with VPS’s global offerings.

The VeriSphere Webshop has been designed to simplify how shipowners, operators, and stakeholders across the marine fuel value chain, access critical tools and data. Through a streamlined interface, users can:

  • Browse and subscribe to VPS digital applications
  • Purchase services and products directly online
  • Discover complementary solutions tailored to their operational needs from VPS as well as its ecosystem partners

Alongside the launch of the webshop module, VPS continues to expand the capabilities of its VeriSphere platform, introducing new applications and enhancing existing solutions to deliver deeper operational insights.

A key addition is the MySurveys application, designed to support bunker quantity survey processes by providing detailed insights into quantity losses, density variations, and bunkering performance. This capability represents an important step in the digitalisation of traditionally manual survey processes, enabling greater transparency and benchmarking across operations.

Further enhancements across the platform reinforce VPS’s commitment to delivering actionable, data-driven insights across fuel quality, equipment performance, and operational risk management.

With continuous improvements to applications such as PortStats and the broader VeriSphere suite, VPS is enabling customers to move beyond static reporting toward pro-active operational intelligence.

By combining its extensive global fuel quality database with advanced analytics and digital delivery, VPS aims to empowere its customers to identify risks early, optimise fuel performance, simplify compliance and improve operational efficiency.

Dr. Malcolm Cooper, CEO at VPS, said: “The launch of the VeriSphere Webshop marks an important milestone in our digital journey.

“We are making it easier than ever for our customers to access the data, insights, and tools they need, when they need them. As the maritime industry continues to evolve, our focus is on delivering scalable, digital solutions that drive better decision-making, improve operational performance of vessels, prevent downtime and support the transition towards more sustainable maritime operations.”

VPS added that the VeriSphere Platform will continue to evolve with an expanding portfolio of products, services, and ecosystem partnerships.

Related: VPS unveils digital bunker fuel and emissions platform Verisphere

 

Photo credit: VPS
Published: 26 June, 2026

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