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Upcoming VIDA regulations to place increased requirements for Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants

Gealubes Consulting & Trading, the authorised marine business distributor of PANOLIN EALs at Singapore port, shares a two-part education series on Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants on Manifold Times.

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The following educational content on Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) is the final of a two-part series initiated by Gealubes Consulting & Trading Pte Ltd, the authorised marine business distributor of the PANOLIN brand of EALs at Singapore port.

In this edition, Singapore-based Gealubes Sales Director Garren Hay shares with Manifold Times the role of EALs in today’s shipping industry and beyond under the upcoming U.S. EPA VIDA regulations.

MT: Which areas on a vessel should EALs be used and what regions in the world mandate the consumption of EALs?

GEALUBES: The use of EALs are required under the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Vessel General Permit (VGP) issued in 2008 and reissued in 2013 under the Clean Water Act.

The Clean Water Act provided authority for discharges during the normal operation of non-recreational, non-Armed forces vessels that are 79 feet in length and above in waters of the United States, including inland waters and waters of the contiguous zone, extending out 12 miles from shore.

The VGP established effluent limits, sampling, inspection, reporting, recordkeeping and other requirements for 27 specific types of incidental discharges from vessels.

Under the VIDA/VGP context, vessels must use EALs in all oil-to-sea interfaces when within the waters of the United States territory.

These oil-to-sea interfaces include any mechanical or other equipment on board a vessel where seals or surfaces may release quantities of oil and are subject to immersion in water. The VGP specifically identifies several types of equipment that have the potential for lubrication discharges from oil-to-sea interface, including:

  • Controllable Pitch Propeller,
  • Thrusters,
  • Paddle Wheel Propulsion,
  • Stern Tubes,
  • Thruster Bearings,
  • Stabilisers,
  • Rudder Bearings,
  • Azimuth Thrusters,
  • Propulsion Pod Lubrication,
  • Wire Rope, and
  • Mechanical equipment subject to immersion (e.g., dredges, grabs, etc).

Vessel Incidental Discharge Act

However, there is an upcoming vessel incidental discharge act (VIDA) which is currently being developed to replace VGP 2013 and maritime stakeholders should be aware of this even though there is no proposed timeframe for its implementation yet.

The new rule proposed by the U.S. EPA would reduce the environmental impact of discharges, such as ballast water, that are incidental to the normal operation of commercial vessels.

The new VIDA requirements will apply once EPA’s Vessel Incidental Discharge National Standards of Performance and the new USCG implementing regulations required under the VIDA are final, effective, and enforceable.

These proposed changes will have significant impact for the EAL market as some deck equipment that extends overboard will now be classed as an oil-to sea interface and therefore require the use of an EAL.

Such additional equipment that will be classed as an oil-to-sea interface include:

  • Booms or jibs
  • Trolleys
  • Cables
  • Hoist gear
  • Derrick arms

Note: GEALUBES & PANOLIN will be showcasing their latest products and innovations at the Asia Pacific Maritime in-person exhibition between 16 to 18 March 2022 in Singapore. Visit them at booth number E-J16 to learn more.

Gealubes APM Exhibitor Banner pic

About Gealubes Consulting & Trading

GEALUBES is the authorised marine business distributor for PANOLIN in Singapore. PANOLIN’s international headquarter is based in Madetswil, Switzerland.

PANOLIN’s EALs are available globally and its range of EAL products cover applications used within the marine, offshore and food industry.

Contact details of Garren Hay are as follows:

Tel: (+65) 6322 0830
HP: (+65) 9664 2884
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.gealubes.com.sg

Related: Does the Environmentally Acceptable Lubricant sector’s array of labelling programmes mean anything?
Related: Singapore: Gealubes strengthens marine bio lubes commercial operations with new Sales Director

 

Published: 9 March, 2022

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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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