Business

USTC acquires BunkerEx to streamline digitalisation across its group

BunkerEx provides accessibility and optimisation for bunker fuelling costs, which makes it the ideal fit for USTC activities within the shipping and logistics industries.

Published

5 years ago

March 30, 2021

Admin

United Shipping & Trading Company (USTC), parent company of Bunker Holding Group on Monday (29 March), said it has acquired BunkerEx with the objective to step up and streamline digitalisation activities across USTC companies.

BunkerEx caters to digitalisation and transparency within logistics and transport. Furthermore, BunkerEx provides accessibility and optimisation of online platforms for fuelling costs, which makes it the ideal fit for USTC activities within the shipping and logistics industries.

“The acquisition of BunkerEx is a testament to our ambition to digitalise and be at the forefront of innovation and new technologies within the industry. We see great potential in BunkerEx and we are already in talks about future plans to replicate the technology to other products and segments, thereby making it available and relevant to more USTC companies,” said Nina Østergaard Borris, owner and COO of USTC.

“This will enable us to continue the digital transformation that delivers seamless solutions for all Group stakeholders, and which is an inevitable enabler of industry innovation.”

BunkerEx was founded in 2018 by current CEO Ishaan Hemnani and CTO Willem Muller with a vision to combine traditional bunker broking services with cutting edge technology.

Since, the company has accelerated its performance and reputation as a serious and highly professional online bunker broker.

BunkerEx functions as an online automated pricing tool and is integrated with the WhatsApp app. The setup enables clients to track physical and forward bunker prices every millisecond, while also giving clients the flexibility to change ports, dates, quantity, or even vessel. In addition, BunkerEx offers a fast tool to find optimal bunker ports when planning transportation.

“I am extremely proud to start this new chapter together with USTC, and I look forward to joining a highly professional organisation with an aspiration to be at the forefront of digitalisation within the industry,” added Ishaan Hemnani, founder and CEO of BunkerEx.

“My ambition is to continue to create value for USTC companies on their digital transformation journey and to ensure we stay as industry frontrunners.”

BunkerEx said it will continue to operate its offices in London, UK, and Castelldefels, Spain.

Photo credit: BunkerEX
Published: 30 March, 2021

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