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Singapore oil spill: Minister refutes claim that contractor was slow in preventing further spillage

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, in response to a supplementary question in Parliament, said the contractor deployed was not slow in responding to the 14 June oil spill incident.

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Singapore oil spill: Minister refutes claim that contractor was slow in preventing further spillag

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on Tuesday (2 July) defended the response time of contractor T&T Salvage Asia (T&T) to the oil spill incident on 14 June, following an allision between two vessels in Singapore.

T&T was engaged by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) after Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour was hit by Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima at Pasir Panjang Terminal, which resulted in an oil spill in Singapore waters.

Chee was responding to Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan who raised several supplementary questions following Chee’s ministerial statement in Parliament. 

Tan, who is a a practising shipping lawyer at a maritime law firm, highlighted that it has been reported that T&T was mobilised on the same day of the collision at about 2.55pm and it took them just over 14 hours before they were mobilised and finished laying the 200-metre containment booms.

He then questioned Chee why the Oil Spill Response Limited (ORL), the largest international industry funded cooperative providing oil spill response services, was not mobilised concurrently with T&T Salvage Asia, “especially with the view to reduce the deployment time and to reduce the subsequent spread of the oil spill.”

Responding to Tan, Chee said: “There’s a certain underlying assumption, which is that T&T Salvage had been slow and had not been doing its work properly. If I understood him (Tan) correctly, I think that’s not the case.”

“Mr Tan is a maritime lawyer. I’m sure he understands these are not lightweight equipment. These are heavy equipment that will require time to load up onto the vessel.”

Chee also highlighted Captain Anuj Sahai, managing director of T&T Salvage Asia, said in a media interview that the crew was working at night and under bad weather conditions and so “they did their best to deploy heavy containment booms as quickly as they could”. 

“And I would say, given the weather conditions, nightfall and the amount of work that is required to lay out the booms, I think TNT did their best and the response time was in line with the industry practices internationally,” Chee added.

Related: MPA: Claims exceeding liability of “Marine Honour” owner will be made against international fund
Related: MPA: Owner of bunker tanker involved in Singapore oil spill is liable for pollution damage
Related: Malaysia to look into demands of Johor fisherman affected by oil spill from Singapore
Related: Singapore oil spill: Clean-up enters next phase of cleaning rock bunds
Related: MPA: Clean-up ops continue following oil spill in Singapore, affected beaches closed
Related: Singapore: Oil spill cleanup after allision between dredger “Vox Maxima” and bunker tanker “Marine Honour”

 

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 4 July, 2024

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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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