Connect with us

Business

Appeals for investigations into VLSFO as possible cause behind increasing ship incidents

VLSFO was rushed into the maritime industry to meet IMO2020 regulations and it has shown signs of exceeding set safety parameters, reports Forbes.
Admin

Published

5 years ago

on

Screen Shot 2020 12 21 at 3.47.42 PM

Nishan Degnarain, founder of Breakthrough Ocean Ventures and contributor at Forbes on Wednesday (20 January) published an article regarding the possibility of (Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil) VLSFO as the reason for causing various ship incidents over the past year, such as engine failures and oil spills.

In the article, Degnarain refers to VLSFO as an ‘experimental new type of ship fuel’ that has shown signs of exceeding safety parameters set by engine manufacturers and could possibly release higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuel.

One of the stated reasons behind this is the fuel was rushed into the maritime industry to meet IMO2020 regulations that was set by the International Maritime Organization to sidestep criticisms for the industry not being compliant with the Paris Climate Agreement, he said. 

Various environmental organisations like Ocean Rebellion have called for the industry to ‘come clean’ and be more transparent about what is in this new breed of fuel.

Some other concerns include insufficient consultation with seafarers prior to the introduction of the fuel which led to incidents like Panama-flagged tanker MT New Diamond which caught fire after an engine explosion off the Sri Lankan coast.

Similarly, the survivors of Gulf Livestock 1 reported an engine failure that ultimately led to the vessel’s sinking.

Dr. Sian Prior, Arctic Alliance Lead Advisor to Clean Arctic Alliance, a coalition made of non-profit organisations (NGO), has made multiple statements regarding the damaging nature of VLSFO especially when used in the arctic.

Dr. Prior urges for the shipping industry to ultimately ‘must move away from its dependence on fossil fuels both in the Arctic and globally’.

Other environmental NGO leaders cited in the article expressed similar sentiments for the shipping industry to permanently move away from burning any form of fossil fuels.

In the article, Degnarain also alleges that Governments around the world have admitted to not accurately monitoring if VLSFO complies with safety standards.

Meanwhile, there is evidence that VLSFO is both more carbon intensive – because of the refining process – and can have poorer performance than heavy fuel oil.

Purportedly, engine manufacturers such as MAN Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of the German carmaker Volkswagen Group have observed that with the introduction of VLSFO, there was an increase in mechanical issues due to off spec fuel like an increased wearing in the engine liners.

While there is no clear-cut solution, NGO leaders generally agreed that governments need to ‘comprehensively’ regulate emissions within their national waters, and aggressively pursue the ‘zero-emissions’ pathway, while the IMO has a critical role to play in formalizing global best practices within the industry.

Degnarain also warns against intermittent solutions that would cause similar problems in the future such as the use of liquified natural gas (LNG) as a transition fuel.


Photo credit: International Maritime Organisation
Published: 28 January, 2021

 

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.
Admin

Published

14 hours ago

on

June 19, 2026

By

steve pb from Pixabay

Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

Continue Reading

Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

Admin

Published

14 hours ago

on

June 19, 2026

By

Resized benjamin child

A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

Continue Reading

Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.
Admin

Published

14 hours ago

on

June 19, 2026

By

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

Continue Reading

Trending