Business

SMW 2022: 20 maritime leaders attend inaugural MPA Academy programme

MPA and ICS also inked a MoU to support the establishment of ICS Academy and develop training and development programmes for shipping professionals.

Published

4 years ago

April 6, 2022

Admin

Quah Ley Hoon Chief Executive MPA with Maritime Transformation Innovation Programme participants

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)’s Academy on Monday (4 April) welcomed 20 maritime leaders from 15 countries and the International Maritime Organization to the inaugural Maritime Transformation and Innovation Programme (MTIP).

MTIP will run from 4 to 8 April 2022; the programme is specially designed for maritime or senior port officers overseeing technology, innovation, and change management.

Participants will have the unique opportunity to experience the iconic Singapore Maritime Week and attend key events such as the MarineTech Conference and Exhibition and the Singapore Maritime Lecture. MTIP is also the first physical training programme by MPA Academy since the pandemic.

With a focus on sharing Singapore’s experience in driving innovation and transformation, MTIP aims to provide a platform and unparalleled networking opportunities for participants to exchange ideas and best practices with industry practitioners and peers worldwide and gain insights into effective transformation and change management strategies

At the opening ceremony of MTIP, Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, said, “We hope that the sharing and the network that participants built during the programme will be helpful in their leadership and organisations’ transformation journey. Maritime is a global business. Therefore, we must work together to share ideas and best practices to address our common set of challenges as one community.”

MPA Inked Memorandum of Understanding with International Chamber of Shipping

Separately, MPA and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the establishment of ICS Academy and develop suitable training and professional development programmes for shipping professionals.

Mr Tan Suan Jow, Dean of MPA Academy and Guy Platten, General Secretary of ICS, signed the MoU at the Opening Ceremony of MTIP.

Tan Suan Jow Dean MPA Academy with Guy Platten Secretary General International Chamber of Shipping at MOU Signing 2

Under the MoU, MPA and ICS will work together on the following:

Establishment of the ICS Academy in Singapore,
Collaborate and develop suitable distance/online and in-person training and professional development programmes for shipping professionals,
Accreditation for ICS Academy courses and certifications for Continual Professional Development.

Guy Platten, Secretary General of ICS said, “We are excited about the establishment of an ICS Academy to be based in Singapore to provide best practice and advice on a range of regulatory and other important industry matters, including seafarer wellbeing, to shipping professionals both ashore and afloat. We look forward to great cooperation with MPA to make this a reality.”

Set up as a full-fledged academy with a dedicated training facility, MPA Academy seeks to provide targeted maritime leadership programmes such as MTIP to equip global maritime professionals with the skills to respond to transformational shifts and new opportunities within the maritime industry.

The academy also organises the Advanced Maritime Leaders’ Programme, the Maritime Public Leaders’ Programme and the Port Management Programme.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 6 April, 2022

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

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