SINGAPORE, Aug 19 — Eight men have been arrested for their suspected involvement in the illegal sale of marine gas oil (MGO) from a tugboat operating in Singapore waters, police said this week.
Officers from the Police Coast Guard boarded a Singapore-registered tugboat in the waters off Tuas at around 1:05 a.m. on August 13 to carry out a routine check. During the inspection, officers uncovered what they believe was an illegal fuel transaction taking place among the vessel’s crew.
The eight men, aged between 25 and 54, were taken into custody on the spot. All were crew members serving aboard the tugboat at the time. Preliminary investigations indicate the men misappropriated marine gas oil valued at roughly S$10,570 (about US$8,250) without their employer’s knowledge, then sold the fuel for personal financial gain.
The eight were expected to appear in court on August 14, facing charges of theft by a servant of property in the possession of their master — an offence under Singapore’s Penal Code. If convicted, each man could face up to seven years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
This is far from an isolated case. Singapore — the world’s largest marine refuelling (bunkering) hub — has seen a string of similar arrests in 2026 alone:
- February 11: 18 crew members from three tugboats (two foreign-registered, one Singapore-registered) were arrested off Pandan after allegedly misappropriating about S$13,670 worth of MGO.
- February 22: 11 men from two tugboats were arrested off Selat Pauh in a case involving roughly S$5,000 of stolen fuel, allegedly sold from a Singapore-registered vessel’s crew to a foreign-registered vessel’s crew.
Police have said they take a serious view of illegal MGO transactions in Singapore’s territorial waters and will continue to conduct enforcement and security checks to prevent, deter, and detect such activity.
Singapore’s position as the busiest bunkering port in the world means enormous volumes of fuel move through its waters daily, creating persistent opportunities for pilferage and illicit resale — a problem the shipping and bunkering industry refers to broadly as “MGO theft” or fuel fraud. Authorities’ repeated enforcement actions this year underscore an ongoing effort to protect the integrity of the port’s fuel supply chain, which remains central to Singapore’s status as a global maritime and trading hub. The investigation is going on.
