Vale-Cosco deal takes wind out of dry bulk stocks
( LL ) THE Vale-Cosco deal announced Friday has added to the damper on dry bulk stocks that began last week, as concerns mount that the landmark deal could eventually contribute to lower rates in 2016-2017.
New York-listed dry bulks stocks have been in mild retreat since a rally in late August, as analysts have flagged waning China appetite for imported ore and steel and concerns about fleet overcapacity beyond next year mount.
The Vale-Cosco deal has added grist to cautionary mill.
At market close on New York exchanges on Monday, Scorpio Bulkers was down 2.2% to $7.51, DryShips fell 2.4% to $2.87, Star Bulk Carriers declined 3.9% to $13.75, while Navios Maritime Holding fell 3.1% to $8.18.
Others, like Diana Shipping and Paragon Shipping, fell by a more mild 1%.
Likewise, China Cosco, seen as a beneficiary of the agreement, declined only 1% on the Hong Kong Exchange Monday to HK$3.46, following the general market trend.
The deal signalled a long-awaited rapprochement between the Brazilian miner, which had ordered giant VLOCs to reduce its costs of transport, and Cosco, the hard-hit state-owned shipping company that has lobbied to prevent those valemaxes from entering China ports.
While financial details of the agreement are still to be released, the deal is expected to involve 14 of the largest ore carriers. Brazilian mining company Vale has reached a chartering agreement with Chinese shipping giant Cosco and very likely also offering access to Chinese ports.
Under the deal, Cosco is to buy four valemaxes (approximately 400,000 dwt) from Vale and build a further 10, the ships then being chartered back to the mining company.
Perhaps most significantly, the deal is likely to encourage the Chinese government to relax its entry ban for the giant ships, allowing Vale to challenge the freight distance advantage enjoyed by rivals based in Australia, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group.
That could be good for Vale and Cosco, but for spot market players in a market concerned about long-term overcapacity, it simply added to another note of caution.
Capesize deliveries tapered off relative to 2010-2012 in the past year and a half. The pace will continue through 2015, which some analysts say will be a sweet spot for capesize earnings, if China demand holds. Deliveries will begin to climb significantly again from 2016.
“As a deal it won’t affect the market immediately but especially during 2016 and 2017, the market will not be as good because of it,” he said.
“No one feels that if these ships are allowed to discharge in China that it will be a good deal for us.
“But really we will just have to wait and see what happens.”
An Australian broker also said the announcement was cause for concern.
Underlying the concern is the obvious reduction in spot market demand for fronthaul voyages from Brazil to China. That could throw more capes into the Pacific basin vying for the West Australia to China trade, a lucrative route, but one that is periodically overcrowded even now.
A lot will depend on how the three Australian mining majors react to Vale’s recoup of its cost-saving plan. If Vale is allowed to deliver its ore directly via valemaxes to China as opposed to transhipping it from the Philippines and Malaysia, analysts project savings for the miner of about $7 over current costs. Typically, Australian miners have had about a $10 advantage over Vale.
The miners have already increased capacity and shipment volumes to record levels in recent quarters, despite the low cost of iron ore. One reaction would be for the miners might be to defend their shrinking advantage by increasing volumes yet again, pushing up capes demand on the Australia-China route.
Vale’s New York-listed stock was up about 1% on Monday to $12.44. Shareholders in the Australian miners’ stocks were unfazed. Rio Tinto’s New York stock exchange share price was up about 1% to $52.66, while BHP, also listed in New York, closed down about 1% to $64.61. FMG’s, listed on the Australian exchange, was trading up 2% to A$4.05 on Tuesday.
The deal had reverberations elsewhere. A report by analyst Jon Windham from Barclays in Hong Kong maintains the Chinese shipbuilding sector, particularly China Rongsheng, could be a winner from these deals.
“We believe China Rongsheng would be the primary beneficiary in the event of a potential lifting of the Valemax ban,” the report stated.
“It is the only Chinese shipyard that has won orders to construct Valemax vessels for Vale…”
Barclays further argued the deal the VLOC ban from domestic Chinese ports is positive for Chinese shipbuilding as it would likely call for a restart of VLOC ordering at Chinese shipyards.
“Each 400,000 dwt valemax from Chinese yards costs $110-$140m, according to Clarksons Research, implying China Cosco’s order for 10 Valemax would collectively cost $1.1bn-$1.4bn.”
Condensate shipped from US Gulf to drive product tanker growth
( LL ) PRODUCT tankers, specifically the long range one tankers, could be in high demand over the next three years, if the US Department of Commerce continues to approve condensate export applications and refiners move forward with their proposed infrastructure projects, according to a maritime analyst.
Assuming both trends unfold along those lines, the demand for those product tankers out of the US Gulf coast could jump by 5%, according to Ben Nolan, an equity analyst with Stifel.
That projection is based on 500,000 barrels per day of supply, mostly out of the Eagle Ford shale, Mr Nolan told clients during a conference call on the subject.
Attention surrounding the exporting of condensate, an ultra-light hydrocarbon produced from oil and gas drilling (known as lease condensate), has increased since June, when notice of the commerce department’s approval of two applications to export condensate — from Enterprise Products Partners and Pioneer Natural Resources — became public.
The assumption that the government will continue to grant export approvals for condensates could necessitate 39 LR1 vessels, or a 2.5% increase in product tanker demand, to ship the estimated 300,000 barrels per day to Japan, Mr Nolan said on Monday.
Add to that another 200,000 bpd from additional splitter capacity and the total LR1 fleet growth demand could reach 5%, he added.
While the first shipments of condensate started moving this year with the Enterprise and Pioneer decisions, Stifel does not believe those approvals do not automatically mean the US will overturn its almost four-decade ban on crude oil exports.
“We do not necessarily see this as the first move in a free-for-all [crude export move,]” Mr Nolan said during the call.
The growth in the production of condensate runs alongside the growth in the domestic output of crude oil. Last year, energy companies produced about 1m bpd and by 2019, that could grow to 2.4m bpd, according to information from Bentek Energy, a markets analytics company.
The other factor in the condensate export projects centre around the number of US splitter facilities, which are used to turn condensates into refined products — shipments that do not have to be approved for export.
The Total/BSF splitter in Texas is currently the only splitter in the US, but that could grow to eight by 2016, according to Mr Nolan’s presentation. Of those eight, seven will be in Texas. If achieved, the total capacity for condensate processing would jump 427% in that time.
“Even after the seven new splitters come online by the end of 2016, the US will still be oversupplied with condensate as we estimate that over 1.8m barrels per day of total condensate will be produced by 2016 and over 2.1m barrels by 201,” according to Mr Nolan.
The operators most likely to benefit from the increased trade flow are those with exposure to medium range and long range tankers, which include Scorpio Tankers, Tsakos Energy Navigation, Capital Product Partners and Ardmore Shipping.
Top 2M managers urge FMC not to stop the clock
( LL ) TOP-level representatives from Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co last week flew out to meet US Federal Maritime Commission officials seeking to avoid having the clock stopped on the 2M vessel-sharing agreement.
Sources have told Containerisation International that the visit sought to persuade the FMC not to delay the launch of the alliance as part of its review.
Under US law, the FMC has 45 days to review proposed agreements, but can halt that process to ask carriers questions.
Once the answers are provided, another 45-day process begins, but that can only happen once.
There will be insufficient time for the two lines to prepare the VSA for start-up early next year if the commission issues a request for further information and stops the clock on the review.
The carriers flew their executives out to Washington after two commissioners aired reservations about 2M and warned that the FMC was likely to stop the clock on the 45-day review to gather more information about the alliance.
It is not yet clear whether the carriers have managed to offset the commissioners’ concerns.
Maersk raises $1.25bn in two bond offerings
( LL ) AP Moller-Maersk issued two bonds on Tuesday worth a total of $1.25bn, raising the funds for general corporate purposes, the Danish-based company said.
The shipping, ports and energy group placed a $500m bond with a 3.75% coupon maturing in 2024, underwritten by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and RBS.
The same group of banks served as underwriters for Maersk’s companion issuance, a $750m bond with a 2.55% coupon coming due in 2019.
Maersk said that it expects Moody’s to rate the bonds at Baa1 and Standard & Poors to rate them at BBB+.
Maersk also announced that it had already spent around $62m in a plan to buyback B shares in its stock announced in August. The goal is to buyback $1bn worth of the stock over the next 11 months.
Sanctions force spotlight onto aframaxes hauling Russian crude from Kosmino
( LL ) AFRAMAXES hauling crude out of Kozmino in Russia continue to work as sanctions against the Russian oil industry are ramped up.
Russia can still export oil; new US and European Union sanctions block the export of western services and deepwater technology for Russia’s oil industry.
Three major state oil firms — Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom Neft, the oil unit of gas giant Gazprom — have had their access to financial markets restricted, limiting their power to raise funds.
Rosneft, therefore, recently had to ask the Russian government for a $42bn loan.
The gas industry is thus far excluded from sanctions, due to Europe’s huge reliance on Russian gas.
Against this tense backdrop, with sanctions being tightened every few weeks due to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, aframax tankers continue to haul crude out of Kozmino, earning money for as long as sanctions remain at current levels.
Among the fixtures in the last few days was one for the aframax Afra Laurel.
The Hellenic-Tankers owned, 2002-built, 106,500 dwt, vessel was chartered by GSC to carry 100,000 tonnes of crude from Kozmino to Yosu in South Korea.
The charterer is paying a $590,000 lumpsum for the voyage and the vessel will load its cargo in Kozmino on September 27.
China also continues to import crude from Kozmino: charterer Unipec chartered a yet to be named aframax to haul 100,000 tonnes of Kozmino crude to China on September 28, at an unreported rate.
Tanker owners will no doubt hope this growing trade route is not hampered by an introduction of harsher sanctions against Russia’s oil sector.
It is a route that is turning into a success story.
Crude exports from Kozmino, a trade that started only four years ago, offer a respectable 407,000 barrels per day for aframaxes, enough to support almost five shipments per week.
Average exports of this East Siberian crude back in 2012 were 321,000 bpd, enough for just under four shipments on aframaxes per week, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.
It is an aframax trade at this stage, China importing the largest volumes at 137,000 bpd, followed by Japan at about 100,000 bpd and South Korea at 68,000 bpd.
It helps the aframax market to have a trade that is growing, offering employment opportunities for the ships, especially if other routes are going through uninspiring periods.
As things stand, there is not much to shout about for owners when it comes to other routes.
North Sea aframaxes are seeing spot earnings of around $11,000 per day, Baltic Sea aframaxes around $10,000 per day, and Mediterranean aframaxes around $8,500 per day.
ICAP Shipping said Baltic Sea aframax rates were “stuck in the mud”, while the North Sea was merely “bobbing along, waiting for winter”, and in the Mediterranean all eyes were “on one cargo today, with most sitting back and waiting for that to get out the way”.
Aurora LPG fixes its fleet for the third quarter at $110,000 per day
( LL ) AURORA LPG made a net income of $6.3m in the second quarter, hailing it as a strong period due to rising exports of liquefied petroleum gas out of the US and healthy volumes from Africa and the Middle East, helping it to fix all of the third quarter at a market-topping $110,000 per day.
The company, which is listed on the Oslo over-the-counter market, said its time charter equivalent earnings were $84,865 per day in the second quarter.
Aurora, whose inception in its current form came at the start of this year, has three very large gas carriers on the water and six firm newbuilding contracts.
KNOT lands 20-year time charter for two suezmaxes to shuttle Brazilian oil
( LL ) KNUTSEN NYK Offshore Tankers, in which Japanese shipping behemoth Nippon Yusen Kaisha has a 50% stake, has chartered out two of its suezmax shuttle tankers to Brazil Shipping for a maximum of 20 years.
Brazil Shipping, a subsidiary of UK energy company British Gas, will take the vessels from the fourth quarter of 2016.
The time charter involves two 158,000 dwt suezmax tankers, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, shuttling Brazilian crude.
Details of the value of the contract have not yet been released. Average suezmax crude tanker earnings are around $12,000 per day on the Baltic Exchange’s index.
British Gas owns interests in oil and gas fields in the waters off Brazil and is one of the major players in this area, according to KNOT.
Following this deal, KNOT will have 30 shuttle tankers in operation or on order.
A shuttle tanker loads crude oil from floating production, storage and offloading units in deepwater fields, and then transports the oil to other storage units.
Russia and Finland agree to share icebreakers
( LL ) RUSSIA and Finland have signed an icebreaker-sharing agreement that will allow Finnish icebreakers to work in the eastern parts of the Gulf of Finland near St Petersburg and Russian icebreakers to assist vessels operating in Finnish ports in the Gulf of Finland under ice conditions.
The Finnish icebreakers are operated by Arctia Shipping a state-owned but independently managed company.
Arctia has a fleet of six icebreakers and two multipurpose vessels. Last month, it took delivery of its latest harbour icebreaker, to be based in Kemi in the far north of the Gulf of Bothnia.
Brokers cautious as demolition rates exceed $500 per ldt
( LL ) BROKERS struck a note of caution over the past week as cash buyers paid “speculative” rates of over $500 per ldt for a range of vessels, including three containerships.
The hike in rates comes on the back of relative stability in domestic steel plate prices and currency exchange rates for key markets including India and Pakistan after weeks of volatile peaks and falls.
But with shipowners pushing for top dollar deals for their vintage tonnage, concerns linger as to whether the demolition market will be able to sustain the aggressive purchasing by some buyers.
“Whether local fundamentals have quite reached the levels of some of cash buyers’ current speculative prices is indeed doubtful, but a few industry players remain optimistic that a further improvement could be on the way as the fourth quarter gets into full swing,” said US-based cash buyer GMS.
“Notwithstanding, subcontinent markets have failed to meet expectations on plenty of occasions so far this year and this is definitely a risky game to play, particularly when India remains as highly volatile as it has recently been.
“Extreme fluctuations in the local steel plate prices and the currency have seen sentiment in the Indian market take a battering of late as several cash buyers have seen large sums of money wiped off their high priced inventories as a result.”
That view was echoed by London-based Clarkson Research Services, which said the high rates on offer were tempting some owners to dispose of older units.
The key question is whether the cash buyers will be able to sell on those vessels at a profit.
“From the news that we are hearing in and around the market, it seems not,” Clarkson said.
Despite the bullish sentiment few deals were actually concluded, yet another indicator of the need for caution.
“The reason may be that while a lot of units are being talked about in the market, owners’ price expectations continue to be high and are unreasonable in this current climate,” Clarkson added.
Among the most recent deals reported were three containerships sold by Technomar Shipping en bloc for $505 per ldt, for delivery to India.
The 1990-built, 7,693 ldt vessels Tangier and Tarragona were sold “as is” Fujairah for just under $3.9m each, while the panamax-sized 1995-built, 24,321 ldt Melina was sold “as is” Singapore for $12.3m.
“It looks to be extreme speculation on the three Technomar units and a big gamble, given the way the Indian market has consistently disappointed and hurt cash buyers this year,” GMS said of the deal.
In another deal, the 1990-built, 9,210 ldt general cargoship Atlantic Nyala , operated by Baltic Mercur, was reported sold for delivery to India for $500 per ldt, or $4.6m.
Bangladesh sentiment picks up
There were strong sales reported in other key markets in the Indian subcontinent, with sentiment in Bangladesh finally starting to pick up after the summer slowdown.
Greece has fewer owners but a bigger fleet, finds Petrofin report
( LL ) GREEK-owned shipping capacity continues to expand but closer examination of the ownership of the fleet underlines a clear trend towards consolidation, according to a new study by Petrofin Research.
The Ted Petropoulos-led research house said that, including newbuildings on order for delivery up to end-2015, the Greek-owned fleet last year increased by nearly 8%, to 303.6m dwt and has added 134 vessels.
Much of the growth has been through newbuilding activity and Petrofin describes the largest category of shipowners, with fleets of at least 25 ships, as “the main locomotive” behind the impressive numbers.
Looking deeper into the ownership composition of the industry, Petrofin found that this year that Greece has 668 shipping companies, down 3.2% from 690 last year — a decline of nearly 28% since it started annual research into the fleet 17 years ago.
However, the number of companies operating 25 ships or more has risen in a year from 35 to 40, to account for 55% of the Greek-controlled fleet.
These larger companies expanded their fleets by almost 30m dwt during the year.
The larger owners have also been getting younger, as well as bigger, in terms of fleet age, said Petrofin.
The number of companies running fleets of 25-plus ships with an average age of less than 10 years has risen from 14 to 22.
Overall, the average age of the Greek-owned fleet fell from 14 to 13.3 years last year; for vessels larger than 20,000 dwt, the average age is now 9.1 years.
“Whilst fleet consolidation in terms of the total Greek owners is still taking place, the overall fleet dwt size is growing fast and its age is falling,” said the study.
According to Petrofin, advantages of economies of scale have been “instrumental” behind consolidation in the number of companies and have strongly supported the bigger owners.
“Finance and capital opportunities abound for large companies, which have invested heavily in modern eco vessels,” Petrofin said.
“Consequently, the big owners are pulling away from small owners, who are finding the going tough, unaided by the poor shipping markets and the dearth of finance and capital.”
US equity funds are playing a role by co-investing in young vessels and newbuildings, assisting some Greek companies to “grow and break out of their original size limits”.
However, a large segment of the Greek shipping community has relied on bank support and, as cashflow is poor, loan restructures “continue to take place”.
Petrofin says finance for newbuildings has become “less scarce” but that the cost of securing and keeping a bank’s loan commitment remains high.
“It is estimated that over 70% of all Greek orders with delivery from 2015 onwards, remain unfinanced,” it said.
“It is a paradox to see that Greek shipping continues to grow, despite the state of the markets, the lack of financing and the poor cashflows. Clearly, Greeks see an opportunity in this market, despite the odds.
“Greek shipping is expected to continue to grow in the years to come but we suspect that the rate of growth shall slow down in light of largely non-supportive market conditions... Shipping represents an investment and thus far the operating investment returns have been most disappointing.”
Manila congestion is far from over, says ICTSI
( LL ) CONGESTION that has hampered terminal operations in Manila in recent months could continue into next year, according to the regional head for the port’s main terminal operator.
“It takes a few months for a bad congestion situation to build and it will take you at least half a year to get out of it,” he said.
“Having a few extra truck moves in a couple of days obviously helps after being paralysed for seven to eight months, but there are still queues everywhere. The DP World terminal has queues; we have queues as does Batangas Port.”
Mr Gonzalez admits that he has already seen the benefits of Saturday’s decision by Manila mayor Joseph Estrada to pull the plug on all truck restrictions into the City of Manila, with the amount of boxes coming into the port and leaving on the rise.
However, this number is well below what it should be, because of how the original ban created an “uncertain environment” for the truckers.
Mr Gonzalez explained that following its implementation in Manila, the 14 other cities that make up Metro Manila have introduced truck restrictions of their own.
“For example, one city said that trucks can come through here but you can only use one lane, while another said you can come through here but you can only use these roads, while others said no trucks during the day only at night,” he said.
“What you then had was a completely unco-ordinated system of bans and regulations surrounding the port, so when trucks go from city to city to wherever their destination is, it is confusing for them.”
“So while Manila has in fact lifted their ban, there are still a number of different regulations in place in the other surrounding cities.”
Until these are lifted, you will not only continue to see a degree of congestion, he added.
The lifting of the ban in Manila signals what Mr Gonzalez believes is the start of the recovery, and despite the port’s reputation being battered and bruised, it is fortunate that its customers have no option but to use the port given the lack of alternatives and the country’s booming economy will also help the port get back on track. Mr Gonzalez however warned that the government needs to fast-track projects to alleviate congestion and make sure that the situation seen in Manila becomes a thing of the past.
“You need to align the capacity of the roads with the terminals and the only way to do that is through political will, getting rid of these truck bans and implementing a proper appointment system, something I have been shouting about for a number of years now.
“There are a number of plans for port connecting roads to be built, but these plans have been on the table for years,” he said.
“These will have to run through three or four cities, so you have to get permits from one mayor and then you have to deal with another guy. It’s a total pain.”
Given the time scale involved in building these road links, the port has decided to build a temporary berth at the site of Manila’s proposed Berth 7.
“We are undertaking a temporary job that will last a year or two before it starts breaking up just so we can get out of this mess,” said Mr Gonzalez.
He expects the short-term structure to be in place next month.
“This will cost two to three million dollars more than it should for something we’re only going to use for half-a-year,” he said.
“Once we’re out of this mess and back to 60% or 70% utilisation, we’ll empty this out again and start doing the proper work and build the proper berth.”
UK’s MAIB reports on ECDIS assisted grounding
( MarineLog ) Steve Clinch, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents at the U.K. Marine Accident Investigation Branch has some scathing things to say about current generation ECDIS equipment and the training needed to use it.
Mr. Clinch's comments come in his foreword to the MAIB report on a chemical tanker grounding in which, among other things "the OOW followed the track shown on the ECDIS display but had such poor situational awareness that it took him 19 minutes to realize the vessel was aground."
"This is the third grounding investigated by the MAIB where watchkeepers' failure to use an electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) properly has been identified as one of the causal factors," writes Mr. Cliff." As this report is published, there are over 30 manufacturers of ECDIS equipment, each with their own designs of user interface, and little evidence that a common approach is developing. Generic ECDIS training is mandated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), but it is left to Flag States and owners to decide whether or not type-specific training is necessary and, if so, how it should be delivered. As experience of ECDIS systems improves, evidence indicates that many owners are concluding that type-specific training is essential, though some are resorting to computer-based training once the watchkeeper is on board. In this accident, however, despite dedicated training ashore on the system they were to use, the operators' knowledge of the ECDIS and ability to navigate their vessel safely using the system were wholly inadequate.
"This is the third grounding investigated by the MAIB where watchkeepers' failure to use an electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) properly has been identified as one of the causal factors," writes Mr. Cliff." As this report is published, there are over 30 manufacturers of ECDIS equipment, each with their own designs of user interface, and little evidence that a common approach is developing. Generic ECDIS training is mandated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), but it is left to Flag States and owners to decide whether or not type-specific training is necessary and, if so, how it should be delivered. As experience of ECDIS systems improves, evidence indicates that many owners are concluding that type-specific training is essential, though some are resorting to computer-based training once the watchkeeper is on board. In this accident, however, despite dedicated training ashore on the system they were to use, the operators' knowledge of the ECDIS and ability to navigate their vessel safely using the system were wholly inadequate.
Alliances to spark more orders for big ships ?
( JOC ) Overcapacity and moderate demand, resulting in low rates, spurred container lines’ increased cooperation through vessel-sharing alliances. But new global alliances could produce a retaliatory surge in large-ship orders in 2016-2018, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts warn. The potential new wave of capacity comes as a slowing of ship deliveries has put the container ship industry on the verge of its first period of sustained profitability since 2010.
Hong Kong throughput falls in August as trade slows
( JOC ) Hong Kong’s container throughput in August slid into negative territory for the first time since February, down almost 3 percent year-over-year as the summer peak season momentum began to slow.
Technology seen transforming supply chain to create ‘connected’ enterprise
( JOC ) Advances in technology and shipper demand are leading trucking companies toward the 'connected enterprise' and closer ties to customer supply chains.
Free of congestion, Savannah looks for new sources of growth
( JOC ) Unlike several major North American ports this year, the Port of Savannah hasn’t seen the type of debilitating congestion that has hurt other import gateways.
DC seeks to speed up crucial Port of Long Beach repairs
( JOC ) Two Southern California politicians are asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to hurry along repairs to the breakwater protecting the Port of Long Beach, two weeks after high winds and waves punched holes through the barrier.
New Indian prime minister makes ports a priority
( JOC ) After only 100 days in office, it’s clear that India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, will make reducing port bottlenecks a priority.
Air France sets contingency plan as pilots begin week-long strike
( JOC ) Air France initiated a contingency cargo plan today as pilots begin a week-long strike that will ground more than half of the carrier’s flights.
India-Myanmar service launched by Shipping Corp. of India
( JOC ) State-owned Shipping Corporation of India has announced the launch of a fortnightly direct container service connecting major ports in the Indian subcontinent with Myanmar, starting this month
Singapore cracks down on illegal MGO sales
( MarineLog ) Singapore Police Coast Guard has arrested foreign crew members, seized tugs SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 — The Singapore Police Force reports that since 2013, the Police Coast Guard (PCG) has broken up seven groups involved in the illegal sales of marine gas oil (MGO). In total, PCG has arrested 55 foreign crew members and three Singaporean financiers involved in these cases. Cash amounting to over $22,000 and six vessels have been seized during the course of investigations.