Meng News

Massachusetts Maritime Academy conducted its annual regimental Change of Command Ceremony in conjunction with the celebration of National Maritime Day on Wednesday, May 24.The Change of Command Ceremony is both the symbolic and physical transfer of leadership responsibilities from the graduating senior class to members of the junior class. During the ceremony, held at the Clean Harbors Athletic Stadium on the Academy’s campus, the outgoing Regiment of Cadets Commander 1/C Abigail Pope of Falmouth, Mass., passed her responsibilities to 2/C Cole Francavilla of Stoneham, Mass.

Singapore's highest court has dismissed an appeal by oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin and his two children after they were successfully sued for breach of fiduciary duties by the court-appointed managers of a company they once owned.Lim is the founder of defunct Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd and Ocean Tankers, once one of Asia's largest oil trading and shipping firms, which both went under judicial management in 2020, after oil prices collapsed."The entire conduct of this litigation has led to an immensely unsatisfactory state of affairs…

China’s exports unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in August thanks to solid global demand, helping take some of the pressure off the world’s second-biggest economy as it navigates its way through headwinds from several fronts.The Asian giant staged an impressive recovery from a coronavirus-battered slump, but economic momentum has weakened recently due to the Delta variant-driven COVID-19 outbreaks, high raw material prices, slowing factory activity, tighter measures to tame…

A Singapore court has approved a freeze on up to $3.5 billion of assets of the family behind collapsed Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, boosting the prospect of debt recovery from the former oil trading empire that counts some of the world's biggest banks among its creditors.Hin Leong was wound up in March after failing in a year-long effort to restructure more than $3 billion in debts after the COVID-19-led oil crash laid bare huge losses. Founder Lim Oon Kuin admitted in a court document…

The IMO’s MARPOL Annex IV is being revised to confirm the lifetime performance of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). This may finally bring about grey water regulation – a necessity that is long overdue.Black Water and Grey WaterA ship’s sewage (black water) is collected from toilets, urinals and hospitals. The IMO’s MARPOL Annex IV prohibits its discharge, except when treated by an STP or discharged at > 12nm from the nearest land. A ship’s grey water, collected from showers, wash basins…

Singapore port operator Jurong Port has completed its acquisition of a stake in a major oil storage terminal in the city-state from the family behind collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, a port spokesman said on Saturday.The spokesman said government-owned Jurong Port had completed the purchase of a 41% stake in Universal Terminal from the Lim family. He declined to give details on the transaction.A lawyer for the family did not immediately respond to a Reuters email…

About one third of the roughly 150 ships owned by companies controlled by Singapore tycoon Lim Oon Kuin and his family have been sold as part of efforts to repay billions of dollars of debt owed to creditors, two sources told Reuters.Accounting firm Grant Thornton, court-appointed supervisor of Xihe Holdings, put up several vessels for sale through shipbrokers in September last year. Xihe Holdings is owned by the Lim family and held the bulk of their fleet.The rest of the ships are majority-owned by Xihe Capital - currently under liquidation according to Singapore business registry records - and 10 single purpose companies.The ships…

The supervisor of Singaporean shipping group Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd has put seven oil tankers controlled by the company up for sale as part of efforts to recoup funds owed to creditors, three sources said on Wednesday. Xihe Holdings is part of the Lim family business empire, which also includes oil trader Hin Leong Trading and fleet manager Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd, both of which were placed under court-appointed supervisors earlier this year.The sale includes three crude oil supertankers and is expected to get fully underway in the coming days, the sources said.The ships were valued at a total of just over $196 million, according to vessel…

The court-appointed manager of Singapore Ocean Tankers (Pte.) Ltd is seeking to reclaim about $19 million from the Lim family directors of the firm, who allegedly transferred the funds from the shipping company to their accounts in April, court documents show.The interim judicial managers from EY said the Lim family "breached their fiduciary duties" by transferring the funds when Ocean Tankers was insolvent.Ocean Tankers, owned by Oon Kuin Lim, founder of embattled oil firm Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, and his daughter Lim Huey Ching, was placed under interim judicial management on May 12.The EY managers said in a statement of claim filed…

The Singapore High Court has appointed Grant Thornton Singapore as the supervisor of Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd and four of its subsidiaries, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.The court decision followed an application by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd (OCBC) to place Xihe Holdings and the subsidiaries under the business adviser's supervision.The subsidiaries involved are Da Xin Tankers (Pte) Ltd, Hua Guang Shipping Pte Ltd, Nan King Maritime (Pte) Ltd and Hua Xin Shipping Pte Ltd and these units together own five ships.Xihe Holdings is part of the Lim family business empire, which also includes oil trader Hin Leong Trading and fleet manager Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd…

The family that owns beleaguered Singaporean oil trader Hin Leong Trading (HLT) is seeking to block creditor OCBC's request to appoint overseers for the family's Xihe Holdings and four other subsidiaries to recoup its debt.Oversea Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) applied last week for the Singapore High Court to appoint judicial managers over Xihe, owned by the family of Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin, known as O.K. Lim.Kenny Lim Oon Cheng, Xihe Holdings interim chief executive, said…

Members of Singapore’s Lim family have asked a court to stop law firm Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP (R&T) from working for court-appointed supervisors to two companies in the Lim’s embattled oil trading empire, Evan Lim Chee Meng told Reuters.Lim and his sister, Lim Huey Ching, filed an application to restrain R&T from acting for the judicial managers of fleet manager Ocean Tankers Pte Ltd, Lim said in an email on Friday. A similar application had been made in regard to oil trader Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, he said.They filed application on behalf of Ocean Tankers and Hin Leong Trading. Lim and his sister are directors of both companies.The actions are the latest in a series stemming from the collapse earlier this year of Hin Leong and Ocean Tankers…

EY, the court-appointed supervisor for Ocean Tankers Pte Ltd (OTPL), has proposed two restructuring options to the shipping company's owners and could meet with them as early as next week to discuss the plans, according to an EY report seen by Reuters.The discussions are to ascertain whether the owners - Lim Oon Kuin, his son Evan Lim Chee Meng and daughter Lim Huey Ching, or the Lim family - are "willing to support any future restructuring of OTPL", the report said.EY declined to comment. Its lawyers, Rajah and Tann did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Evan Lim, the director of Ocean Tankers, said in an email that the Lim family would make it known if it decided to release a statement on the report.

Two EY executives in Singapore have been appointed interim judicial managers of Ocean Tankers, the accounting firm said on Tuesday, following a Singapore court hearing to consider the shipping company's request to appoint independent managers.Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd (OTPL) is owned by the Lim family which also owns Singapore's oil trader Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, itself placed under judicial management in April as it seeks to restructure billions of dollars of debt.Under judicial management, a court appoints independent managers to run the affairs of a financially distressed company in place of existing management, a move that is often…

Singaporean shipping firm Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd, a unit of troubled oil trader Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, has applied to be placed under the management of a court-appointed supervisor, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Singapore's High Court is due to hold a hearing on an application by Ocean Tankers on Tuesday, according to a notice on the Supreme Court website. The notice did not give further details.Hin Leong and Ocean Tankers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Hin Leong, one of Asia's top oil traders, was placed under judicial management late last month as it seeks to restructure billions of dollars of debt.Hin Leong owes $3.8 billion to 23 banks…

The founder and director of Singapore oil-trading company Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (HLT) directed the firm not to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over several years, he said in a court filing reviewed by Reuters.The affidavit signed by Lim Oon Kuin, a Singaporean in his 70s widely known as O.K. Lim, is part of a Friday filing to the Singapore High Court by HLT and subsidiary Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd, seeking a six-month moratorium on debts of $3.85 billion to 23 banks.The filing cites a collapse in the oil price and the coronavirus pandemic…

Singapore oil trader Hin Leong held a call with banks on Tuesday after they failed to provide a letter of credit to the firm to purchase at least one cargo of oil products due to load this month, four sources said.The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented slump in fuel demand and hammered oil prices, making it difficult for trading firms to make a profit. Hin Leong is one of the largest fuel traders in Asia and an operator of a major tanker fleet.Several banks which offer credit facilities to Hin Leong held a call with the company and its advisers on Tuesday…

Vitol Marine Fuels Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Vitol Group, has acquired 100% of Singapore-based bunkering specialist Sinanju Tankers Holdings.The Singapore Bunkering license holding entity has been renamed Vitol Bunkers (S) Pte Ltd and from 1st April 2020 all bunker deliveries will be carried out by Vitol Bunkers (S) Pte Ltd.Through the transaction, Vitol has acquired an expert bunker tanker manager and operator with extensive experience of physical bunker supplies in the port of Singapore…

The National University of Singapore's Faculty of Engineering (NUS), Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG) and Keppel Data Centers Holdings join forces to develop new energy-efficient cooling technology for data centers.This innovation could further pave the way for more sustainable and compact data centers, said Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corporation.With the rapid expansion of cloud-based services, AI, the Internet of Things and big data analytics, there has been an exponential demand across the globe for data centers in recent years. As the leading data center hub of Southeast Asia, Singapore accounted for around 50 per cent of the region's data center capacity in 2015.Due to the high internal load and the need for consistent cooling and operation in a tightly-controlled environment…

The Vessel is on track to commence deliveries of compliant marine fuels from Q1 2020.Singapore-based bunker tanker owner and operator Sinanju Tankers Holdings (“Sinanju”) achieved a new milestone today with the launch of the republic’s inaugural LNG-powered conventional bunker tanker.The 7,990 dwt vessel was christened “Marine Vicky” by her Lady Sponsor, Ms. Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) at a launch ceremony held in Nantong, China at Keppel Nantong Shipyard, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (“Keppel O&M”).Ms.

Marking its first foray into the US, Singapore-based port operator PSA International has completed the acquisition of Penn Terminals located on the Delaware River in the U.S. from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.Penn is a privately owned multipurpose marine terminal on the Eastern Coast of the USA. Penn’s terminal, warehousing and stevedoring services have enabled it to handle its clients’ cargo since 1986.“This acquisition represents PSA’s very first foray into the USA. We are delighted to embrace Penn as the newest member of the global PSA family and to be able to participate in its continued growth and expansion.

ExxonMobil Asia Pacific has signed a two-year time charter agreement with Singapore-based Sinanju Tankers Holdings Pte Ltd to lease Singapore's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered bunker tanker, Sinanju said in an statement on Friday.The 7,990 deadweight tonnage (dwt) newbuild will be the first LNG bunker tanker for Singapore and Sinanju and will deliver ExxonMobil's new Engineered Marine Fuels (EMF.5) to ocean-going vessels within Singapore port limits from the first quarter of next year.EMF.5 marine fuels are designed to comply with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) globa

Singapore-based port operator PSA International has completed the acquisition of Halterm Container Terminal in the Port of Halifax, Canada, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners."PSA International Pte Ltd concluded the purchase of the terminal from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners after formal approval by regulatory authorities, " said a PSA news release issued on Wednesday night.Halterm is the only container terminal in Eastern Canada that can serve mega container vessels. It operates three container berths covering more than a kilometer of quay length with depth of up to 16 meters.The terminal is currently undergoing further berth expansion…