Business

Wilhelmsen to offer Hitachi handheld sulphur emissions analysers

Enters supply agreement to offer X-MET8000 handheld XRF analyser from Hitachi High-Tech to players.

Published

7 years ago

February 12, 2019

Admin

Wilhelmsen Ships Service on Monday (11 February) entered into a supply agreement with Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science (Hitachi High-Tech) for its handheld XRF analysers to enable vessel crews to accurately and efficiently test the sulphur content of their fuel, on the spot.

Wilhelmsen will be offering the X-MET8000 handheld XRF analyser from Hitachi High-Tech which complies with ASTM D4294, ISO8754, and IP336 sulphur test methods.

With no clear guidance for member states from the IMO as yet, recommended test methods for fuel compliance include drone technology to assess smoke plumes and sniffer units in port to detect sulphur emissions, notes Wilhelmsen.

However, with cost and weather issues affecting such solutions, it is likely mobile equipment such as the X-MET8000 which port state control officers can use to quickly pass or fail vessels’ fuel, will become the favoured means of testing compliance to the new regulations, it says.

“Partnering with Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science, one of the leading fuel testing specialist, enables us to provide our customers, what we believe will, become an absolutely essential tool ahead of IMO 2020,” said Jonas Östlund, Product Marketing Manager, Oil and Water, Marine Products Wilhelmsen Ships Service.

“Crews will be able to eliminate the risk of accidental non-compliance. As vessels approach Emission Control Areas (ECAs), with a lower 0.1%, permissible sulphur content limit, the engine room can immediately and accurately test the Sulphur content of the fuel flowing to the engines after changeover and ensure it is compliant.”

In addition to mitigating the risks of non-compliance during changeovers, fast, reliable, on-board testing equipment lessens the reliance on the traditional Bunker Delivery Note empowering crews to check the sulphur content of fuel during bunkering rather than potentially having to deal with potential fuel specification issues after the fact.

“No hassle testing, onboard and on demand, Hitachi High-Tech’s XRF analysers, along with their industry leading expertise and technical support, will make navigating the new fuel sulphur regulations, while not quite plain sailing, far less of a burden,” he adds.

Vito Angona, Global Sales Director, Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science says, “Our partnership with Wilhelmsen offers customers the best of both worlds, our 45-years of expertise in fuels analysis and Wilhelmsen’s wealth of experience in the shipping services market. We offer a turnkey solution to the market, everything you need for sulphur analysis in one place by one supplier.”

Photo credit: Wilhelmsen Ships Service
Published: 13 February, 2019

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

16 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

16 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

16 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