As a premier product tanker owner-operator and marine fuel supplier, Golden Island has been part of the global shipping industry since 1982. The company delivers high-performance, compliant bunkering solutions designed to keep fleet operations seamless and reliable. Hannah Barnett learnt more from Managing Director Johnny Tan, Chief Operating Officer Captain Kevin Wong, Senior Chartering Executive Kennis Tan and Head of Fuel Trading Department Koji Dekura.
From the world’s busiest bunkering port, Golden Island is doing its part to help decarbonise shipping. This includes combining four decades of reliability with real investment in the fuels of the future. As an owner-managed company, Golden Island is nimble and deals directly with customers, so decisions are made quickly.
“Our clients speak to people who can act, there are no layers of bureaucracy,” Johnny Tan, Managing Director, said. “We have a long track record combined with a history of genuine innovation – it is rare to have both heritage and agility. We are owner-involved, relationship-driven and prudent. Customers know who they are dealing with, and we honour our commitments.”
Bunkering background
Founded in 1982 by Mr S S Tan, the company started out supplying bunkers to fishing vessels in the Singapore River. More than 40 years later, it is a trusted supplier in the Port of Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub.
The fleet today contains seven bunker tankers in total. Four are IMO Type II bunker tankers – Golden Antares, Golden Sirius, Golden Centaurus and Golden Carina. These are complemented by two LSFO bunker tankers, Golden Pioneer and Double Happiness, and the MGO bunker tanker Golden Aranda.
Meanwhile, the company is run by around 250 ship and shore staff, and employee turnover is exceptionally low. “Many of our personnel have served the company for years,” said Captain Wong, COO. “We have a healthy balance across age groups, contributing to a stable, experienced workforce that underpins consistent service.”
The company is working to actively develop the skills of its shore staff, drawing on MPA schemes such as the Maritime Cluster Fund, including the Manpower Development component, alongside other government grants and training programmes. These build capability, deepen expertise and support career progression.
“Our business is family-owned and hands-on – run by owner-managers who listen closely and think sharply, while giving their teams the room to run,” said Johnny Tan. “Staff take genuine ownership and contribute proactively, supported by measured, consistent decision-making rather than reactive change.”
Golden Island has now broadened from pure bunker supply into an integrated marine energy company organised across six complementary arms: Fuel Trading, New Fuels Development, Bunker Supply, Vessel Chartering, Ship Management and Fresh Water Supply.
“Within the Golden Island Group, Dews Pte Ltd is one of only two MPA-licensed suppliers of fresh water to ships in the Port of Singapore,” explained Captain Wong. “We operate the water tankers Dews and Prism, thereby extending the group’s port-services footprint beyond bunker supply.”
The group also has in-house marine and electrical engineering capabilities and delivers EPC projects for shore installations and manufacturing plants, including gas and chemical facilities. “That engineering depth helps us when we take on new fuels like methanol,” said Captain Wong. “Golden Island has a self-contained ecosystem of complementary capabilities.”
Green fuels
In 2004, the company commenced a partnership with ENEOS, one of Japan’s largest energy companies, marking an early indicator of external confidence. Golden Island was then amongst the first suppliers in Singapore to begin VLSFO (0.5% sulphur) supply in 2019, ahead of the IMO 2020 sulphur cap. “This was an early sign of our readiness to move with the regulation rather than react to it,” said Koji Dekura, Head of Fuel Trading Department.
Golden Island was one of only three firms granted an MPA methanol bunkering licence from 1 January 2026 and progress has been swift since. It quickly took delivery of its first two Singapore-flagged IMO Type II bunker tankers, Golden Antares and Golden Sirius, with two more, Golden Centaurus and Golden Carina, then delivered in September and October 2026. Earlier, in January 2026, the company completed its inaugural ship-to-ship green methanol bunkering operation.
Golden Island’s four IMO Type II bunker tankers are also built to foreign-going chemical tanker standards. Between bunkering jobs, the company deploys them on regional voyages carrying clean petroleum products (CPP) and chemical cargoes to regional ports. This dual role keeps the vessels working rather than waiting, and has drawn interest from cargo owners, traders, oil majors and brokers.
“Having IMO Type II tonnage that can bunker in Singapore one week and carry chemicals regionally the next is unusual in this market,” said Kennis Tan, Senior Chartering Executive. “It has opened doors with charterers and traders who would not normally look at a bunker supplier. They see a reliable owner-operator with modern and capable ships.”
As the company moves from a harbour-based operation into blue-water trading, ship management has become core to the business rather than a bolt-on. The company is strengthening it deliberately across safety, technical excellence and operational discipline. “We are investing in crew competency,” Captain Wong said. “Our personnel, for example, completed IMO-aligned methanol-handling training (Basic and Advanced) at the Singapore Maritime Academy before operations began.”
Beyond seagoing crew, the company is also strengthening the shore-based ship management team, bringing in experienced professionals and increasing headcount to keep pace with a growing and more complex fleet.
Underpinning this is a safety-first culture. Since delivery, Golden Island’s IMO Type II tankers have completed every operation, from methanol bunkering in Singapore to regional cargo voyages, with zero lost-time incidents. Its ISCC certification and MPA compliance give customers further assurance on quality, traceability and delivery. Operational discipline, in turn, is built on the company’s core values: on-time deliveries, transparency, accountability and integrity.
Navigating the multi-fuel transition
Golden Island is responding to the evolving fuel market and supporting customers in a changing regulatory and commercial environment. A key theme is the transition from a ‘brown-water’ harbour-craft operation into a ‘blue-water’ ocean-capable fleet, requiring a significant shift in capability and mindset.
“We are supporting our customers through the multi-fuel transition by offering conventional and low-carbon options side-by-side, biofuel and methanol today, with ammonia, ethanol and others in the pipeline,” Johnny Tan explained. “To speak candidly, the challenges lie in uncertain demand for new fuels, the price and availability of green molecules, the need to build new assets and infrastructure, and evolving regulation across jurisdictions. We are managing this by investing prudently and partnering, rather than over-committing to any single pathway.”
Golden Island’s success has been built on long-term partnerships rather than transactional relationships. Working with established international energy and trading partners, the company secures reliable supplies of conventional and low-carbon methanol, backed by a coordinated supply chain.
These partnerships also give Golden Island access to ISCC EU-certified green methanol produced from agricultural and forestry waste. In July 2025, Golden Island received 5,000 tonnes for bunkering trials, loaded onto its chemical tanker, Golden Antares. The fuel offers more than a 75% reduction in carbon intensity compared with conventional VLSFO.
Looking further ahead, Golden Island is working with international partners to explore the marketing and supply of low-carbon ammonia as a marine fuel in Singapore, with operations targeted within this decade.
“Together, these partnerships give our customers a traceable, certified, future-fuel supply chain,” said Koji Dekura.
Moving forward, Golden Island will continue to progress future fuels through partnerships. At the same time, it will invest in the shift to a blue-water fleet, while deepening its ship management and ship chartering capabilities. “Chartering is where our whole group comes together,” said Kennis Tan. “When a charterer works with us, they get an owner who also manages the ship, trades the fuel and understands the cargo. That means fewer handovers and faster answers. As we move into foreign-going chemical tankers, that integrated model is what we are taking to the blue-water market.”
“The transformation we are going through is not just about new ships or new fuels; it is about operations and commercial working as one team,” said Captain Wong. “Our tankers bunker in port and trade regionally because our crews, ship managers and chartering desk plan together. That alignment, built on a safety record we are proud of, is what will carry Golden Island into blue-water shipping.”