Connect with us

Business

Sources: China total bunker demand up 20-30% on year, Zhoushan continues to be top bunkering port

Some bunker suppliers at various ports have even achieved their sales target for the year; the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down and suppliers are expecting a boom during end of September.

Admin

Published

on

Screen Shot 2020 09 18 at 3.00.15 PM

The bonded bunker sales volume in China has increased over the past eight months when compared with the same period in 2019 despite the Covid-19 pandemic and volatile international situation, learned Manifold Times.

Insiders with knowledge of the matter revealed most major physical bunker suppliers at Chinese ports experiencing steady sales from January to August, with bunker sales increasing between 20-30% per month when compared to monthly sales in 2019.

Some bunker suppliers at various ports have even achieved their sales target for the year, before August. The trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down and suppliers are expecting a boom at the end of September due to approaching National holidays (Mid-Autumn festival and Chinese National Day) taking place in early October.

Zhoushan port

In Zhoushan, the most important bunker supply port on China’s east coast, the total bunker quantity sold was about 2.8 million metric tonnes from January until August, 13.4% higher than the comparative eight-month period in 2019.

Based on the following chart, with the exception of June where the bunkers sold was lower than in 2019, sales in the remaining seven months showed a steady increase with August being the peak.

Screen Shot 2020 09 18 at 3.00.15 PM

Tianjin port

Other ports in China also reported a boom in their bunker sales. “About 90,000 metric tonnes was sold in August alone,” a local major supplier in Tianjin revealed.

Other Tianjin-based traders also shared that in the last week of August, nearly 55,000 metric tonnes of bonded bunker fuel have been sold for deliveries to approximately 70 vessels arriving in early September 2020.

Xiamen port

A local supplier in Xiamen also shared that sales in 2020 is significantly better than last year. At least 20 – 30 deals have been made per day, the highest level of sales ever recorded, which also often caused deliveries from bunker barges at Xiamen port to be tight.

Factors influencing the increase

The improved bunker sales can be attributed to bunker operation restrictions in Hong Kong, and the marine fuel tax rebate introduced by the Chinese government starting 1 February – which made China’s bunker fuel prices competitive with Singapore.

Overall, the bunkering sectors in neighbouring countries of China have also been affected by Covid-19 and this have resulted in shipowners opting to purchase their fuel in China instead.

An increased post-pandemic activity in China, driven by domestic economic recovery in the food, coal, steel, major bulk imports (items which are transported by containers, tankers and bulkers) have further contributed to the boom in bunker demand at Chinese ports.

Related: Hong Kong: Bunker demand shift to nearby ports after tightening of COVID-19 measures
Related: Argus Media: China to apply bunker fuel tax rebates from 1 February 2020

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 18 September, 2020

Continue Reading

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.

Admin

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

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.

Admin

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

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.

Admin

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

Trending