<article><p class="lead">Singapore's bunker fuel sales in 2021 rose by 0.3pc on the year to 49.99mn t in response to strong high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) demand and record container throughput, according to the city-state's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA).</p><p>This is the second-highest total on record after the port of Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, achieved sales of 50.64mn t in 2017.</p><p>Sales of very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) declined by 3.56pc on the year to 32.87mn t in 2021, although HSFO sales increased by 21.63pc to 12.89mn t over the same period. </p><p>This means that 25pc of sales in Singapore, or one in four barrels, was of the high-sulphur grade, demand for which has been supported by a widening price differential with VLSFO. The Hi-5 spread, or the spread between Singapore 0.5pc sulphur marine fuel and 380cst HSFO prices, averaged $119.74/t in 2021, up from $97.82/t in 2020, according to Argus data. </p><p>There were nine months in 2021 when Singapore sold over 1mn t of HSFO compared with just four months in 2020, when the International Maritime Organization's 0.5pc sulphur cap for marine fuels took effect.</p><p>Sales of low-sulphur marine gasoil (LSMGO) totalled 3.72mn t last year, down slightly from 4.06mn t in 2020. </p><p>Singapore's bunker fuel consumption reached 4.18mn t in December, down by 44,000t from November.</p><p>A total of 39,447 vessels called at Singapore to refuel in 2021, down from 40,585 in 2020, according to MPA data.</p><p>Total container throughput hit a record high of 37.5mn twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to drive up demand for seaborne transport despite logistical bottlenecks, especially in Asia.</p><p>Singapore also sold a total of 50,000t of LNG as bunker fuel last year, with the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2199313">completed in March</a>. </p><p>Market participants think that Singapore's future as a bunkering hub in the near term will be <a href="https://www.argusmedia.com/en/blog/2021/december/16/alternative-bunker-fuels-asian-competition-to-shape-singapore-future-poll">impacted most by growth in alternative bunker fuels</a>, especially LNG and biofuels, and intensifying competition from other ports in Asia, according to an Argus poll conducted in December.</p><p>Over 70pc of the participants surveyed think that Singapore's bunker fuel demand will total 50mn t or more in 2022.</p><p class="bylines">By Sammy Six</p></article>
