Marine fuels
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The introduction of new regulations has caused fundamental change across the marine fuel markets. Reliable insight and data reflecting the market direction are more pressing than ever.
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Latest marine fuels news
Browse the latest market moving news on the marine fuels industry.
Panama bunker sales climb by 10.5pc in July
Panama bunker sales climb by 10.5pc in July
New York, 19 August (Argus) — Panama bunker sales rose by 10.5pc year over year in July as higher prices at competing ports boosted demand. Total bunker sales reached 427,985 metric tonnes (t) in July 2026, up from 387,152t in the same month a year earlier, according to data from the Panama Maritime Authority (ACP). Very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) sales increased by 7pc to 277,588t from 259,478t a year earlier. High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) recorded the strongest growth, rising by 22pc to 105,996t from 86,892t in July 2025. Marine gasoil (MGO) sales rose by 9pc to 44,401t from 40,782t. On a month-to-month basis, total bunker sales increased by 11pc from 385,100t in June to 427,985t in July. The increase in Panama sales likely reflects tight fuel availability in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, which has shifted some demand to alternative ports including Panama. The Singapore-to-Panama VLSFO monthly average premium narrowed to $5/t in July from as high as $123/t in April. The spread has since flipped to a $73/t discount so far in August, making Panama increasingly competitive. The Singapore-to-Panama HSFO premium also narrowed, falling to $129/t in July from $147/t in May. That differential has likewise reversed to a $16/t discount in August. Panama's VLSFO prices were the lowest among major Latin American bunkering ports in July. The country's monthly average VLSFO price was $26/t below Santos, Brazil, the region's second-cheapest port. By Luis Gronda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
MGO prices outpace fuel oil in Europe on tight supply
MGO prices outpace fuel oil in Europe on tight supply
Sao Paulo, 28 July (Argus) — Marine gasoil (MGO) prices are rising faster than very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) values in Europe, supported by tight prompt supply. MGO prices in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub rose by 73.5pc between the start of the US-Iran war on 28 February and 27 July, Argus data showed. This compares with a 38pc increase for VLSFO and a 27pc increase for HSFO in the same period. In the Gibraltar-Algeciras-Ceuta (GAC) hub, prices for MGO rose by 64.5pc, while VLSFO values firmed by 42pc in the same period. HSFO prices rose 27pc in Gibraltar. Market participants attributed the differential between the fuels to tight prompt supply stemming from Russian diesel exports hitting at a 10-year low and reduced refinery output. Around 22,560 t/d loaded at Russian ports on 1-21 July, according to data analytics platform Vortexa, down from 62,000 t/d in June, the lowest daily average for any month in at least 10 years. The war in the Middle East has also changed bunkering and cargo flows in Europe and Africa, and renewed hostilities in the Red Sea increasing ship diversions through the Cape of Good Hope . Meanwhile, diesel stocks in Europe are decreasing. Diesel and other gasoil stocks held independently in Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp dropped by 2.6pc to 1.64mn t, their lowest since August 2022, as there were no imports during the week. Marine fuels supplier Peninsula warned that these renewed tensions could create a "perfect storm" for ship operators by increasing bunker fuel demand to cover the detour. To re-route via the Mediterranean also would mean to increase MGO or biofuel demand, since the region is an emission control area (ECA), the company said. MGO demand is usually firm in Europe because of ECAs operating in the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Regulations require shipowners to burn fuel with up to 0.1pc sulphur content, hence restricting fuel specifications or requiring the installation of a scrubber to reduce sulphur content. Ultra-low sulphur fuel oil (ULSFO), traded at a discount compared with MGO, is also an option that comply within the ECA, but the grade has yet to gain significant market share because buyers are concerned about quality issues and availability outside of Europe, leaving MGO as the preferred option to comply with the ECA. By Natália Coelho MGO vs VLSFO bunker fuel prices in Europe $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil to expand support for biodiesel bunkering
Brazil to expand support for biodiesel bunkering
Sao Paulo, 24 July (Argus) — Brazil's hydrocarbons regulator ANP has launched a 45-day public consultation on proposed changes to bunker fuel specifications, as it seeks to align national standards with the latest International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements and decarbonization targets. The draft regulation would replace the ANP resolutions that govern marine diesel and marine fuel oil sales in Brazil and establish a framework for alternative and renewable bunker fuels. The proposal would tighten requirements for fuel quality control, certification, sampling, traceability and identification, in line with MARPOL Annex VI, the IMO rules to cut greenhouse gases. ANP proposes classifying biodiesel, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and synthetic fuels as drop-in alternatives, allowing them to be used in place of conventional petroleum-based marine fuels without modifications to engines or bunkering infrastructure. The regulator is also seeking to clarify which market participants may carry out fuel blending activities and would allow 100pc biodiesel sales to commercial customers for use in their own vessels. The proposed changes reflect increasing interest in alternative marine fuels and Brazil's broader energy transition strategy. ANP would establish a pathway for experimental authorizations covering fuels not yet included in the ISO 8217 marine fuel standard, including ethanol, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen. The draft regulation would also introduce specific rules for LNG bunker fuel. LNG bunkering operations would require prior ANP authorization, reflecting the early stage of Brazil's LNG bunkering infrastructure development. By Gabriel Tassi Lara Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UAE's Fujairah anxious about VLSFO supplies
UAE's Fujairah anxious about VLSFO supplies
Dubai, 23 July (Argus) — Bunker market participants in the UAE's Fujairah, the Middle East's prime marine fuels centre, have been assessing the future supply of very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) to the port, hoping to avoid a repeat of the severe supply crunch in June. A disruption of Kuwaiti exports through the strait of Hormuz as well as news on the expected restart of a residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) at Dangote's 650,000 b/d Lekki refinery in Nigeria, have increased concerns about short and mid-term bunker fuel availability. Vortexa shows no VLSFO cargoes from Kuwait's 615,000 b/d al-Zour refinery left the Mideast Gulf in July. The last shipment was around 60,000t of VLSFO on board the Hydra , delivered to an unnamed terminal within the Gulf on 11 July. The larger share of the plant's fuel oil output is typically kept for domestic power generation in summer months, further reducing export availability. A 100,000t shipment of low-sulphur straight-run residuals (LSSR) from Dangote in June had brought relief to the Fujairah market, after the acute supply crunch in June, when Fujairah delivered bunker premiums against cargo prices surged by 600pc to over $700/t. But the return of the Dangote RFCC, scheduled currently to be by the end of this month, could mean that the potential flow of feedstock material will soon not be available. "Supplies are okay at the moment, but looking ahead at the second-half August, there are increasing concerns," a Fujairah bunker supplier said. Vortexa shows just one vessel — the Abliani with 92,000t of low-sulphur residuals — departed the Black Sea port of Taman on 10 July, signalling Fujairah for 16 August arrival. The vessel has been anchored near Port Said, Egypt, since 18 July, and it is not clear if it will proceed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait after a ban announced by Yemen's Houthi militia and subsequent attacks on two Saudi oil tankers. The ban did not specify if it would focus only on Saudi vessels, but can impact all vessel traffic by increasing war risk insurance premiums. Fuel oil, including high-sulphur grade, accounted for 37pc of the 1.6mn b/d of oil products that flowed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait in 2025. Vessels smaller than very-large crude carriers can still depart the ports on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast and journey through the Suez canal and then around the Cape of Good Hope, but such a diversion will come at a significantly higher cost. By Elshan Aliyev Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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