Business

Vitol targets Singapore for Asia biofuel growth with bunker barges arrival in 2024

From early next year, Vitol through subsidiaries V-Bunkers and Vitol Bunkers will be able to offer a range of biofuel bunker blends, from B24, B30 and even up to B100 if customers request it.

Published

3 years ago

October 24, 2023

Admin

Energy trader Vitol on Tuesday (24 October) said it is strengthening its position in Asia’s expanding biofuel market, with the delivery of specialised bunker barges to Singapore in 2024.

From early next year, Vitol through its wholly-owned subsidiaries V-Bunkers and Vitol Bunkers will be able to offer a range of biofuel blends, from B24, B30 and even up to B100 if customers request it.

Currently, all vessels delivering bunker fuel in Singapore are oil tankers. These are permitted to only supply a fuel blended with biofuel up to 25% concentration. Any greater and IMO regulations stipulate a ‘IMO Type 2 chemical tanker’ ship is required.

The first IMO-Type 2 barge ordered by V-Bunkers will be delivered in January, to be followed by several more throughout 2024. Depending on demand, these vessels could also be upgraded to supply methanol.

“Bio and e-methanol are also significant pathways for the industry to achieve decarbonisation and there have been a number of specialist dual-fuel methanol powered vessels on order for delivery starting from next year,” Vitol said in a statement.

Though at a nascent stage, demand for biofuel is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, as the shipping industry looks at ways to decarbonise and curb emissions.

“The delivery of specialist barges is an exciting development for Vitol and its sustainability offerings in Asia,” said Mike Muller, Head of Vitol Asia.

“As the shipping industry steps up its pursuit of decarbonisation solutions, barges that can deliver bunker fuel with a much higher concentration of biofuels represents a material step in the right direction.”

Biofuels, which can be in the form of methane, methanol or fuel oil / gas oil blends, are seen as a convenient way for shipping companies to reduce their carbon emissions due to their ability to be used as a ‘drop-in fuel’.

It is this flexibility that lends itself to the shipping industry. In Singapore, volumes of B24 biofuel have increased, with sales of more than 50kt in August, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). And year-to-date sales are already more than double those in 2022.

“This trend is expected to continue into 2024, particularly with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) interim guidelines on biofuels becoming effective from 1st October 2023. These stipulate that certified biofuel will be able to reduce a vessel’s Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) due to its near zero carbon factor on a well-to-wake (WTW) basis,” Vitol added.

Photo credit: Vitol
Published: 24 October, 2023

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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.

Published

12 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

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.

Published

12 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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.

Published

12 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

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