Marine fuels
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Latest marine fuels news
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Monjasa first to offer biofuel for bunkering in Panama
Monjasa first to offer biofuel for bunkering in Panama
New York, 16 January (Argus) — Marine fuel supplier Monjasa will be the first biofuel for bunkering supplier in Panama. Monjasa's B30 is a blend of 30pc used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome) with 70pc very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO). It is available for delivery on barge in Cristobal, on Panama's Caribbean coast. Monjasa can also deliver B30 in Balboa, on the Pacific side of the canal "although this could lead to price adjustments due to logistical changes", Monjasa told Argus . The company can supply up to 7,000 metric tonnes (t) per month, but it aims to increase this capacity as well as offer additional grades and blend ratios. VLSFO demand on Panama's Caribbean side averaged at 57,912t/month in 2024 according to Panama Canal Authority data. Monjasa also sells biofuels for bunkering in Colombia and Peru. In Colombia, Monjasa has seen biofuel demand from container ship companies, RoRo vessels and most recently from cruise ships. In Peru, demand has been driven by dry bulk vessels used by several mining companies. In northwest Europe, B30 was assessed at $813/t average in the first half of January, 54pc higher compared than VLSFO which was at $528/t. By Stefka Wechsler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Singapore’s bunker demand hits record high in 2024
Singapore’s bunker demand hits record high in 2024
Singapore, 16 January (Argus) — Bunker demand at the port of Singapore hit a record high of 54.9mn t in 2024, with Singapore remaining the biggest bunkering hub in the world. Bunker demand jumped by 6pc on the year at the island nation, with total and conventional bunker sales reaching an all-time high, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). "Singapore continues to be the world's largest container transshipment hub," said transport minister Murali Pillai at the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) New Year Conversations this week. Total container throughput also hit a record high of 41.12mn twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) in 2024, surpassing 40mn TEUs for the first time, Pillai added. This was up from 39m TEUs in 2023. The number of tanker arrivals for the year reached 25,802, up from 24,763 in 2023. Singapore's bunkering of alternative marine fuels also breached the 1mn t mark in 2024, with 882,830t of bio-fuel blends and 463,948t of LNG bunkered at the port. Bunkering of bio-blends, using very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome), jumped by 51pc from 518,000t in 2023 to 779,900t in 2024. Demand for high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO)-based B24 rose to 89,300t in 2024, from only 5,600t bunkered in 2023, as blending HSFO with Ucome picked up. This was supported by more scrubber installations by ship owners and the push to meet green savings targets set by the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Carbon Intensity Index (CII) and EU-led FuelEU Maritime. Among other alternative marine fuels, LNG bunkering more than quadrupled to 463,900t in 2024 versus 110,900t. Interest to bunker LNG has surged among ship owners in this region since 2024, in an effort to again meet the compliance requirements set by IMO and EU. Methanol for bunkering demand remained modest with sales registered only for one month last year, 1,626t in May. Singapore VLSFO demand declined by 3.7pc from 2023 to 29.6mn t in 2024. Its HSFO demand grew for the fifth year in a row to 20.2mn t in 2024, and was up by 21pc from 2023. Singapore's marine distillates sales rose by 2pc from 2023 to 3.8mn t in 2024, but fell from its 2020 peak of 4.7mn t. Ranking MPA also published a list of its five top biofuel bunker and top 10 conventional bunker suppliers in 2024, which showed some reshuffling. South Korean refiner SK Energy joined Singapore's top five biofuel suppliers in 2024, but it was not on MPA's list of 14 registered biofuel bunker suppliers in 2023. BP had ranked third in 2023, but fell out of the top five in 2024. Chevron, Maersk, Minerva and Vitol were Singapore's other top five biofuel bunker suppliers. Glencore entered the top 10 ranking of conventional marine fuel suppliers in 2024, after it ranked 11th in 2023. Shell ranked ninth in 2023, but dropped out of the top 10 in 2024. The companies which remained in the top 10 were BP, Chevron, Eng Hua, Equatorial, Global Energy, Petrochina International, Sinopec Fuel Oil, TFG Marine and Vitol. Among these, Equatorial, TFG Marine and Chinese suppliers, Petrochina International and Sinopec Fuel Oil, made up the top ranks by volumes in 2023. There were a total of 41 conventional bunker suppliers in Singapore in 2023. By Mahua Chakravarty and Stefka Wechsler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Q&A: Waste-based biofuel to benefit Dutch bunkering
Q&A: Waste-based biofuel to benefit Dutch bunkering
New York, 15 January (Argus) — With marine fuel greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regulations tightening, shipowners are looking for financially feasible biofuel options. Argus spoke with Leonidas Kanonis , director for communications and analysis at European waste-based and advanced biofuels association (Ewaba), about biofuels for bunkering. Edited highlights follow. Do you think that the Netherlands government will scrap the HBE-G bio-tickets that it has been allocating for marine fuel for use by ocean-going vessels? HBEs are not disappearing in 2025, and the Dutch system will continue as normal, including HBE-G bio tickets. In 2026, the plan is that HBEs will be scrapped altogether, when the Dutch system switches to an Emissions Reduction Obligation. The Emissions Reduction Obligation would be a transposition of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDIII) spanning all transport sectors and HBEs would not exist under such a system. Annex IX of REDIII lists sustainable biofuel feedstocks for advanced biofuels (Part A) and waste-based biofuels (Part B). Under the proposed REDIII, EWABA is advocating those fuels made from feedstocks listed under Annex IX B, which include used cooking oil and animal fat, be allowed into the sustainability criteria for maritime transport. Allowing only "advanced" feedstocks listed under Annex IX A would put the Dutch bunkering sector at a cost-and-supply disadvantage compared with non-EU ports. The Annex IX B exclusion could also put the Netherlands in danger of not hitting its maritime sector target, which rises from a 3.6pc reduction in GHGs in 2026 to 8.2pc in 2030. Annex IX B biodiesel can bridge the gap while advanced technologies such as ammonia and hydrogen are more widely deployed. The EU imposed anti-dumping taxes on Chinese biodiesel imports in mid-August. What has been the effect on European biodiesel producers? Following the Chinese anti-dumping duties (ADDs), we have seen an uptick in domestic European waste-based biodiesel prices, widening the spread between the end product and the European domestic feedstock itself. On the other hand, on 1 December, the Chinese government cancelled the export tax rebate for used cooking oil (UCO), disincentivizing Chinese exporters and making Chinese UCO more expensive for European buyers. It is still early to say what the trend for 2025 will be, but as an industry we are optimistic about increased European biodiesel production. Over the past two years, our members have been suffering, mostly operating at sub-optimal production levels or forced to shut down production. In 2025, there is reserved optimism that the market will improve due to: the ADDs to Chinese biodiesel, the 2025 FuelEU maritime regulation, and the introduction of the EU Database for Biofuels introduced in 2024, which tracks the lifecycle of biofuels and strengthens transparency. Are there other threats next year that are facing the European waste-based and advanced biofuels producers? Overall challenges for the market would be demand for feedstock from competing industries, largely the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market with the introduction of the ReFuelEU mandate, but also competing regions as the US imported huge amounts of waste feedstocks from China last year, while southeast Asian and UAE countries promote their own bio-blending targets. Do you think Donald Trump's presidency would affect Europe's biofuel markets? We expect the Trump administration to possibly limit feedstock imports from outside the US, boosting the sales of local soybean and other crop feedstocks to produce domestic HVO, SAF and biodiesel. At the same time, the US government has noted they will impose duties on imports coming from anywhere, with China experiencing the most considerable level of duties of up to 60pc. For example, an import tax on European and UK biodiesel would mean that more fuel is available to fulfill the European and UK mandates, as the US is also relying on HVO and FAME from Europe and the UK to fulfill its own mandates. Biofuel for bunkering has been a popular low-carbon fuel option among container ship companies. But oil tanker owners and dry bulk carrier owners are slower to embrace biofuels. Do you see this changing? At the moment, most biofuels used in shipping are indeed for container ship companies that could more easily afford higher prices of bio components. The biofuels industry is receiving a lot of interest from tanker or carrier owners but for lower biofuel blends compared to container ship companies. Container vessels are willing to buy higher biofuel blends and are interested in B100. Oil tankers are focusing more on B15 and higher bio blends to comply with the minimum GHG reduction targets possible. But as the GHG reduction targets on the FuelEU rise, this will of course change as well. In 2030, what do you project will be the demand for biofuels for bunkering in Europe? As an estimation, we expect waste biofuels bunkering demand in Europe to surpass 2-2.5mn tons by 2030. Specification-wise, what are some of biofuel properties that ship owners need to look out for? We don't believe waste-based and advanced biodiesel fuel properties have considerable issues for ship operators. Especially for blends up to B30, there is nothing to worry about. For higher blends, viscosity and stability are the ones that I believe are more important. Storage time is also important to consider due to lower oxidative stability of FAME compared with fossil diesel alternatives that could be stored longer term. By Stefka Wechsler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Singapore bunker prices rise to multi-month highs
Singapore bunker prices rise to multi-month highs
Singapore, 13 January (Argus) — Bunker fuel prices in the port of Singapore touched multi-month highs today, supported by a rally crude futures Ice Brent Singapore crude reached $81.23/bl by close of trading in the port city, following the announcement of sweeping sanctions by the US administration on Russian energy exports. Shipowners and bunker buyers in Singapore were cautious about procurement given the elevated prices. Many pushed back their bunker buying, preferring to monitor near-term market developments. Very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) prices on a delivered basis in Singapore jumped by $16.7/t to $590.72/t, the highest since 24 October 2024. Deals concluded by 19:00 Singapore time had touched $599/dob and could breach $600/t in the coming days if strength in the energy complex continues. "Market is firm… I would not dare to fix anything today," a ship owner said, adding that "buyers should be very careful" when making procurement decisions. Another vessel owner said its earliest VLSFO bunker requirement would be for delivery from 26 January, and it was not looking to trade at the moment. "It is very difficult to know how things will proceed, but think it might move higher," said a UK-based bunker trader. VLSFO supply availability is limited, which could further support upward movement in prices in the coming days. High sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) prices jumped by $34.67/t today to $507.67/t dob, the highest since 26 July 2024. Marine gasoil (MGO) prices were at a six-month high $731/t dob in Singapore, up by $30/t from the previous session. The upside in crude futures was reflected in marine biodiesel prices, with B24 rising in Singapore. B24, which is a blend of 24pc used cooking oil methy ester (Ucome) and 76pc VLSFO, were assessed by Argus $14-15/t higher at $721-726/t dob. Traders said B24 prices will follow the trend in VLSFO cargo prices, but spot liquidity may remain thin. "Today people are still trying to figure out what right value is," said a key shipowner and trader, adding that prices could rise further this week. By Mahua Chakravarty and Cassia Teo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Argus Green Marine Fuels Europe Conference
Argus Green Marine Fuels Europe Conference
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Argus Sustainable Marine Fuels Conference
