MABUX Digest: Top events on global bunker market. Week 08
The Bunker Weekly Digest was contributed to IAA PortNews by Marine Bunker Exchange (MABUX)
MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, VLSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) did not have firm trend in the period of February 17-21:
380 HSFO added 3.01 to 367.18 USD/MT
VLSFO lost 1.00 USD to 538.00 USD/MT
MGO fell by 0.44 to 599.07 USD/MT
• Chinese refineries have cut output, causing crude stocks to pile up. That has left numerous Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), capable of holding more than 2 million barrels of crude each, unable to unload at China’s top crude import terminal of Qingdao. Other cargoes are being diverted to South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and other locales in China.
• OMV Petrom (Romania) has started to produce IMO 2020-compliant VLSFO, first delivery at Constanza port. Developed at the Petrobrazi refinery, the new very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) is said to be ‘unique to the Romanian market’ and for the first time reduces the country’s reliance on bunker fuel imports.
• CMA CGM introduces Panama Canal Adjustment Factor. CMA CGM’s new CAN20 surcharge is $15 per TEU for dry and reefer cargo, with the exception of US to South America West Coast trades, where the charge is $15 per TEU, $30 per FEU, and $34 per 45 ft container. The new surcharge (CAN20) will be introduced from 1 March, with some regional exceptions.
• Egypt denied reports that the navigation movement at the Suez Canal has been affected due to the spread of coronavirus in China. The Suez Canal Authority dismissed these reports stressing that navigation movement at the Suez Canal is normal.
• The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has warned International Maritime Organization (IMO) member states of the risks of imposing a universal policy on open-loop scrubber washwater discharge that ignores local conditions. As per Association, if attempt to harmonize local rules on discharges, shipping industry might end up with a ‘one size fits all" policy, that risks being too restrictive for some ports and coastal areas and not restrictive enough for others.
• The use and carriage of HFO in the Arctic is increasing, with a 46% increase in the volume of HFO fuel carried by ships in the Arctic between 2015 and 2017, and a 57% increase in the amount of HFO used. This increases the risks of HFO spills and impacts from black carbon in the region.
• Golden Ocean has announced that it has completed 14 of the 23 planned scrubber installations on its Capesize vessels – but the completion dates for some of the remaining installations have currently been extended due to the impact of the coronavirus in China.
• IEA, annual methane emissions from oil and gas are around 80 million metric tonnes. Upstream methane emissions have been a particular critical issue when assessing the overall, life-cycle environmental impact of using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel.
• Gazprom Neft (Russia) plans to produce more than 1.5 million mt/year of low-sulfur fuels for the domestic market, including both VLSFO and ultra low sulfur fuel oil (ULSFO) for use in emission control areas.
• Portuguese oil refiner Galp is currently producing up to 220,000 mt/month of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) but no high sulfur fuel oil (HSFO). Shipowners hoping to find HSFO in Portugal for their scrubber-equipped vessels have to look elsewhere.
• The total volumes of bunker fuel sold in Rotterdam in 2019 dipped to below nine million cubic metres (cbm) in 2019, down from 9.5 million cbm in the previous year. Meantime, the bunkering demand for LNG, biofuels and very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) increased over the past year – but then LNG and biofuels are still building from a low base and the jump in VLSFO sales has been precipitated by the introduction of the IMO 2020 0.50% global sulphur cap.
• Maersk has announced a 6.7% reduction in its bunkering consumption in 2019 compared to 2018. This reduction is even with fleet growth. The figures additionally indicate a bunker price of $412 per tonne in 2019 compared to $424 USD per tonne in 2018.
• The Standard Club has advised its members about 'sudden and unannounced' inspections by Turkish customs on ships. A number of incidents have been reported where custom officials have boarded ships for the purpose of checking the ship’s actual fuel quantity against the one declared on arrival.
• Argus reported that High sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) now claims just a 5% share of the total bunker market in the US. HSFO makes up 5% of sales, marine gasoil 33- 38% and very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) 57- 62%.
• Singapore’s residual fuel oil inventories jumped 10% to their highest in more than nine months, in the week ended Feb. 19, despite plummeting net import volumes, in the latest sign of sluggish bunker demand in the city-state.
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