The majority shareholder of Sea Hub Energy Pte Ltd (Sea Hub), a company formerly in the business of chartering and trading of marine fuels at Singapore port, has issued a clarification to the bunkering industry regarding the imprisonment of its Trading Director.
“The recent 35-month imprisonment of Sea Hubs’ Trading Director is unrelated to the integrity of the company,” Glen Lim told Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times in an interview.
Lim, who founded Sea Hub in 2007, is a 70% shareholder of the company where he also works as its Shipping Director overseeing vessel management and chartering operations; the remaining 30% shareholding of the firm belongs to Trading Director Eric Ang.
“Ang officially joined Sea Hub in early 2008 where he was in charge of the company’s trading and bunkering operations,” states Lim.
He was quick to add procedures of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) of Singapore meant a person may only cease to be a Director of a company by either resignation or disqualification.
“Though Ang is currently listed as a Director, he has been non-active in performing this duty since the last quarter of 2017 after getting himself involved in affairs outside the company,” says Lim.
“Ang had not voluntarily submitted his resignation as Director of Sea Hub till date, and nothing could be done about this due to pending results of the criminal trials – until he has been proven guilty.
“To be clear, the activities undertaken by Ang outside of Sea Hub are categorically unrelated to the current non-active status of the company.”
Sea Hub has been reducing bunkering operations since 2017 and to date functions as a commercially non-active firm, he explains.
The company is currently involved in several bunker dispute trials and is cooperating with local Singapore authorities to resolve alleged [1] Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned activities relating to the Sea Tanker II bunkering vessel.
“Even in the most recent updates from OFAC reports as well as sanction searches, no results were found regarding Sea Hub, Sea Tanker II, as well as its connected individuals,” clarifies Lim.
“As the owner of Sea Tanker II, Sea Hub only provides chartering services of the tanker. We do not trade or are involved in any activities related to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [North Korea].”
[1] North Korea Sanctions Advisory ANNEX 4 – NOTE: This annex is not a sanctions list or a comprehensive list of vessels in which blocked persons may have an interest. While some vessels on this list may be property in which a blocked person has an interest, the inclusion of a vessel in this annex does not constitute a determination by OFAC that the vessel has been identified as property in which a blocked person has an interest. (https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/dprk_vessel_advisory_03212019.pdf)
Related: Magnets on MFMs: Trial ends with 35-month imprisonment sentence for Director of Seahub Energy
Related: Sea Hub Energy seeks US$12 million from Southernpec at Singapore High Court
Related: Singapore: Sea Hub Energy exits MPA bunker craft operator list
Related: OFAC adds Singapore-registered “Sea Tanker II” to sanctions list
Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 14 July, 2021
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