Business

EXCLUSIVE: Singapore top bunker suppliers reveal monthly sales volume

The majority of Singapore’s top ten suppliers shared with Manifold Times their estimated monthly sales volumes during 2017.

Published

9 years ago

January 16, 2018

Admin

Singapore bunker sales volume surpassed the 50 million metric tonne (mt) mark in 2017; the first year mass flowmeters (MFM) was officially adopted for all fuel oil bunkering operations.

The total volume of bunkers sold at the port of Singapore grew 4.2% to 50.6 million mt in 2017, compared to 48.6 million mt in 2016.

A survey conducted by Manifold Times with various company sources revealed the estimated monthly bunker sales volume for the various top 10 Singapore bunker suppliers in 2017 below:

Sentek Marine & Trading – 330,000 to 350,000 metric tonne (mt)
Petrochina International – 300,000 mt
Chemoil International – 290,000 mt
Shell Eastern Trading – No data
Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services – 230,000 mt
Exxonmobil Asia Pacific – No data
BP Singapore – No data
Ocean Bunkering Services – 160,000 mt
**Global Energy Trading – 250,000 mt (total sales, including Singapore deliveries)
**Total Marine Fuels – 220,000 mt

**Figures double checked with respective firms

Overall, market sentiments believe the introduction of MFM technology in Singapore as the key reason for the increase.

“The growth in volume is a sign owners and bunker buyers welcome the implementation of the MFM,” says Simon Neo, Executive Director at Singapore-based bunker broking firm Piroj International.

“MFM technology provides shipowners and buyers with the confidence which the bunker market needs. Also with the tight regulation of the MPA (Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore), players cannot play around with the quantity delivered which was a key complaint for many years prior to 2017.”

Desmond Chong, general manager of Singapore supplier Sinanju Tankers Holdings, suggests the growth in Singapore bunker sales volumes to be “A vote of confidence from shipowners and bunker buyers placed on MFM systems and the exemplary regulatory framework governing the bunker industry.”

“It is often claimed that MFM systems brings about increased transparency and efficiency to the Singapore bunkering industry and now the statistics prove so. This is clear evidence MFM bunkering is preferable over the traditional tank gauging and the right direction for the world’s largest bunkering port to embark on,” he explains.

Favourable cargo movement and developments at Asia further add onto the positive benefits MFM technology bring to the market, notes Frederic Vazzoler, the global sales and development director at Total Marine Fuels.

“The use of MFM systems in bunkering and the transparency the technology brings are pull factors to get vessels bunkering in Singapore,” he says.

“However, the increased arbitrage cargo movement to Asia has also resulted in more bunker product at Singapore; shipowners’ appetite for lifting fuel at the republic has also increased due to more intra-Asia business developments.”

In short, the success of MFM bunkering in Singapore should also be credited to the application of TR48 (Technical Reference for Bunker Mass Flow Metering), says the Managing Director of MFM consultancy Metcore International.

“TR48 provides the platform of a more concise system for marine fuel measurement, metering, and monitoring operations,” explains Darrick Pang.

“TR48 is more than just measurement alone as it also covers areas such as security of measurement to provide the trust and confidence [for bunkering operations]. The next step will be to provide continual monitoring and maintenance of the MFM systems which is just as important as the good start we have had.

“In view of Singapore's stellar bunker sales performance, I would not be surprised to see more ports globally introducing MFM systems and applying a similar TR48 infrastructure to their bunkering operations going forward.”

Manifold Times earlier reported Singapore-based independent international ship management firm Thome Group registering no bunker quantity dispute case in Singapore during 2017.

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

17 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

17 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

17 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