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Hong Kong bunkering market opens up with latest revision of government Covid-19 measures

No quarantine required if vessels have not called at Brazil, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa during the 21 days prior to arrival at Hong Kong port, according to Marine Department notice.

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Note: The following article regarding Hong Kong’s bunkering sector was first published by Manifold Times on 15 June at 3.30pm (Singapore time). 

The Marine Department of Hong Kong (MARDEP) on Tuesday (15 June) issued a notice to the local shipping industry stating Covid-19 restrictions for shipping services (i.e. bunkering, reprovisioning of necessities and switching of shipping documents) have been revised with immediate effect.

The MARDEP notice, obtained by Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times, referred to a letter from the Communicable Disease Branch of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection.

The letter stated ships visiting Hong Kong purely for shipping services are now allowed under certain exemption conditions if they have not called at ports of extremely high risk places specified in ‘Group A1’ under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) during the 21 days prior to arrival.

Under the Hong Kong government, countries designated under ‘Group A1’ as places with extremely high-risk of Covid-19 are:

  • Brazil
  • India
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • The Philippines
  • South Africa

According to MARDEP, vessels which have not called the ports of extremely high risk places specified in ‘Group A1’ should follow the set of health precautionary protocols (below) if there is an operational need to transfer documents between the supply barges:

(a) Only documents directly relevant to shipping or ship service operation should be transferred through a carrying basket or disposable plastic bags to / from the goods vessels concerned.

(b) Workers onboard the local supply barge and the visiting goods vessel should disinfect the carrying basket, pen and folders containing the documents every time after the basket is transferred to either the supply barge or the visiting vessel. Adequate number of towels or wipes which are wet enough by soaking in 1 in 49 diluted household bleach or 70-80% alcohol (only for surfaces which cannot tolerate bleach) should be used for disinfection. Spraying disinfectants are not recommended as this practice could be harmful and would not reduce the risk of viral transmission. A plastic bag, if used, should be disposed of immediately after it is transferred to either the supply barge or the visiting vessel.

(c) Workers handling the carrying basket or disposable plastic bags (as mentioned in (b) above) should put on appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including surgical mask, eye protection (goggles or face shield), gown and gloves. Gloves should be changed if soiled or damaged, and taken off at the end of procedure, followed by proper hand hygiene.

Other conditions such as submission of applications, precautionary measures, regular Covid-19 testing, Covid-19 vaccination, amongst others, continue to be applied for local shipping services companies.

Related: Hong Kong: Bunkering industry rallies for financial relief and relaxed Covid-19 measures
RelatedHong Kong: Bunkering operations affected amidst tightening of COVID-19 measures

 

Photo credit: Florian Wehde on Unsplash
Published: 15 June, 2021

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidators of Nan Ho Maritime, Nan Xin Maritime issue notices of dividend

Nan Ho Maritime’s second interim dividend and Nan Xin Maritime’s second and final dividend are payable from 4 September, according to Government Gazette notices.

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Notices of dividend for Nan Ho Maritime Pte Ltd and Nan Xin Maritime Pte Ltd, which are currently in creditors’ voluntary liquidation, were published on the Government Gazette on Friday (4 September). 

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Ho Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Ho Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 200814315C
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 2.305 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second interim dividend
When Payable : 4 September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

The following are the details of the notice for Nan Xin Maritime:

Name of Company : Nan Xin Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 201701966W
Address of Former Registered Office : 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, #22-70 WCEGA Tower, Singapore 658065
Amount per centum : 3.980 per centum of all admitted ordinary claims
First and Final or otherwise : Second and final dividend
When Payable : 4th day of September 2026 onwards
Where Payable : c/o AAG Corporate Advisory Pte. Ltd., 11 Collyer Quay, #07-02 The Arcade, Singapore 049317

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 7 September, 2026

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LNG Bunkering

Singapore-based EPS takes delivery of three LNG dual-fuel bulk carriers

Three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.

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Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) on Friday (4 September) announced the naming and delivery of three new LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carriers from China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding. 

Cyril Ducau, CEO of EPS, said the vessels were named Mount Victoria, Mount Yulong and Mount Wuyi

The three vessels are the third, fourth and fifth in the company’s series of 14 Newcastlemaxes being built at the yard, and were delivered five months ahead of their contracted delivery dates.

“A big thank you to CSSC Group and Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, working alongside our EPS team, for the tremendous collaboration and commitment behind this achievement,” Ducau said in a social media post.  

 

Photo credit: Eastern Pacific Shipping
Published: 7 September, 2026

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Port & Regulatory

ISWG-GHG 22: IMO working group aims to present NZF text at MEPC 85

The Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85.

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The Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 22) met for its 22nd meeting from 1 to 4 September 2026, chaired by Mr. Sveinung Oftedal (Norway), according to the International Maritime Organization on Friday (4 September). 

According to a meeting summary by IMO, the meeting had a high level of participation, with nearly 1200 registered participants, in person and online.

During the meeting participants considered the following agenda items:

Consideration of proposals, including documents submitted to MEPC 84 and 85, previous sessions of ISWG-GHG, as well as documents submitted to ISWG-GHG 22, on how to address concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the Net-Zero Framework, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy

Following constructive discussions, the Chair expressed his observation of a genuine willingness within the Group to make concrete further progress at the next ISWG-GHG meeting and work towards presenting text to MEPC 85 that adequately addresses the noted progress made in the consideration of proposals on how to address concerns raised regarding the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI on the mid-term measure.

The Group invited interested delegations to continue to consult intersessionally to address remaining concerns with the draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, in line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, taking into account views expressed at the Group’s session, with a view to submitting concrete proposals reflecting enhanced convergence allowing timely adoption and effective implementation.

Further consideration of the draft guidelines supporting the uniform and effective implementation of IMO’s mid-term measures.

The Group held a preliminary exchange of views on this agenda item, although time became a limiting factor and the Group and agreed to defer the consideration of all documents submitted to this session under this agenda item to ISWG-GHG 23 (23-27 November 2026).

Further consideration of the development of the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework.

Due to time constraints, the Group was not able to consider the agenda item related to the IMO Life Cycle GHG Assessment (LCA) framework. The Group deferred the consideration of those documents to ISWG-GHG 23, in conjunction with the report of the fourth meeting of the GESAMP-LCA Working Group expected to be submitted to MEPC 85.

Next steps

The next meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 23) is scheduled for 23 to 27 November 2026, ahead of MEPC 85 (30 November to 3 December).

The second extraordinary session of MEPC (adjourned last October) is scheduled to resume on 4 December, subject to discussions at MEPC 85.

 

Photo credit: International Maritime Organization
Published: 7 September, 2026

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