Ocean Tankers News

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…

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 court-appointed manager for Ocean Tankers Pte Ltd has applied to the Singapore court to return most of the ships the company manages to the shipowners, as cash is running low and Ocean Tankers will not be able to maintain the fleet, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.If successful, the move will allow Ocean Tankers, the chartering arm of embattled oil trader Hin Leong Pte Ltd, to resume its cash-generating business such as its oil lubricants business, for which a sales process is underway…

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…

India's ICICI Bank is seeking the impounding of two vessels operated by Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd, a unit of Singapore oil-trading company Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (HLT), an ICICI source said on Monday.The tankers, Wu Yi San and Chang Bai San, were carrying cargoes financed by ICICI, the source said, adding that the bank had about $100 million exposure to HLT.According to a court filing reviewed by Reuters, HLT's founder and director had directed his firm not to disclose hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over several years.Shares of ICICI Bank fell about 4% after Reuters reported ICICI'

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…

Off the coast of Singapore, the world's largest ship refuelling centre, a bunker barge sidled next to the supertanker Pu Tuo San to fill the giant vessel with a new type of fuel that will meet global standards that start up in January.With a little over five months left until stricter marine fuel rules come into effect, shippers such as Singapore's Ocean Tankers that own the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Pu Tuo San have started testing out lower sulphur fuel to prepare their…

NewbuildingSince the beginning of the year, 100 newbuild orders have been placed across the tanker sector. This is a considerable amount lower than the same period last year, when 140 vessels were placed. It is no surprise to see the Greeks lead the way with the highest number and largest vessels ordered, but hot on their heels are the likes of Eastern Pacific and Ocean Tankers, the Singaporean owners ordering the clean trading vessels.Norwegian companies Hunter Group and Knutsen NYK Offshore buy few but spend a lot.

Ocean Tankers, the provider oil tanker shipping and chartering services to oil companies and trading houses, has ordered six handy-sized tankers to be built at the Chinese shipbuilding facility Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, said a report in Reuters. The report said that the Singapore based tanker company has placed the order for an undisclosed sum as the company renews and expands its fleet and ships are expected to be delivered by 2020. The order is for 23,500-deadweight tonne (dwt) tankers that can carry crude, clean or dirty oil products, to be delivered in stages by the end of the decade. The latest order brings the total number of new vessels that Ocean Tankers has ordered to 28, with 12 more optional units. Ocean Tankers has a modern fleet of more than 100 oil tankers of various sizes.

Starting on April 18, Waterfront Shipping Company Ltd. (WFS), Marinvest/Skagerack Invest (Marinvest), Westfal-Larsen Management (WL), and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) attended the traditional ship naming ceremonies and took delivery of the first Korean and Japanese built methanol-fueled ocean tankers, the Lindanger, Mari Jone and Taranaki Sun. Hyundai Mipo Dockyard hosted the Korean ship naming ceremony, while Minaminippon Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. hosted the Japanese ceremony; where all three of these 50,000 dead weight tonne vessels were built.

Total’s new Asia Pacific blending plant in Singapore produced its first batch of Total Lubmarine products. Andrew Knox, Total Lubmarine’s Asia-Pacific General Manager said, “Now that our Singapore blending facility is up and running, we can cater more effectively for our growing Asian customer base. Located at Tuas, Singapore, the plant opened in July 2015 and is Total’s largest with an annual production capacity of 310,000 metric tons. The Asia-Pacific region already accounts for more than 50 percent of Total Lubmarine’s sales and with increasing shipping flows through the area…

Launched at the Hyundai Mipo dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea, the newly built Lindanger is the world’s first methanol fueled ocean-going vessel. The ship is the first of two dual-fueled 50,000 dwt tankers owned by Norwegian firm Westfal-Larsen that will be chartered to global marine transportation company Waterfront Shipping. With a MAN designed Hyundai–B&W 6G50ME-9.3 ME-LGI dual-fuel, two-stroke engine on board, the Lindanger can run on methanol, fuel oil, marine diesel oil or gasoil. The Lindanger has been assigned the additional notation LFL FUELLED to demonstrate her compliance with the DNV GL rules for low flash point marine fuels.

Tankers has received the new double-hull tanker M/T Stavrodromi of 15,500 tons. With the receipt of M/T Stavrodromi, the fleet increased from 14 to 15 tankers. The tanker is time chartered with Lukoil/Litasco for a period of 7 plus 3 years with a daily net charter of $15,300. It is also noted that the time charter with Lukoil/Litasco is active from the first day of its receipt. Source:  Financial Mirror

Global tanker shipping entered a new era of vessel construction Oct 28, when Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard (SWS) delivered to ’s Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd the first very large crude carrier (VLCC) built to Common Structural Rules (CSR). The 318,000-dwt Hua San, the first of 11 VLCCs confirmed to Lloyd’s Register class at Shanghai Waigaoqiao, was delivered to the owners five months ahead of schedule. The Hua San is the first of an initial order of six VLCCs ordered by Ocean Tankers at Shanghai Waigaoqiao, four of which were classed to Lloyd’s Register.

Total Lubmarine strengthened its global service offering to the shipping industry with the introduction of three brand-new barges at the port of Singapore. The 700 dwt double-hulled barges – Marine Champion, Marine Prosper, and Marine Talent - have a cargo load capacity of 860 cu m for bulk and packaged lubricants, and are fitted with state-of-the-art firefighting equipment. They will be operated by Lubmarine’s logistics partner, Singapore-based Ocean Tankers, which operates a diverse fleet of support vessels and is a specialist in ship-to-ship transfers.