Marine biodiesel demand fell in the final quarter of last year in the port of Rotterdam, while LNG sales picked up ahead of the introduction of FuelEU Maritime regulations at the turn of the new year.
Sales of marine biodiesel blends in Rotterdam fell by 13.8pc on the quarter and just under 50pc on the year in October-December. This contrasts with an increase of about 62pc on the quarter for marine biodiesel blend sales in Singapore, pointing to a continued trend of voluntary demand shifting east of Suez. Participants reported this trend throughout last year, with more competitive prices for the blends in Singapore.
Argus assessed B24 dob Singapore, a blend comprising very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome), at an average discount of $10.58/t against B30 Advanced Fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) 0 dob ARA in the final quarter of 2024. B24 dob Singapore was marked at an average discount of $119.34/t against B30 Ucome dob ARA. Consequently, shipowners seeking to deliver proof of sustainability documentation to their customers, to offset the latter's scope 3 emissions, shifted their marine biodiesel demand to Singapore when feasible.
FuelEU Maritime regulations, which came into effect in January and require a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vessels every year, will probably incentivise regulatory-driven demand for marine biodiesel blends. But the regional price dynamics between ARA and Singapore will probably remain relevant to regulatory-driven demand as well, as energy consumed from blends bunkered in Singapore can be mass balanced to be fully accounted for under the scope of FuelEU Maritime. The pooling mechanism within FuelEU Maritime would also allow for vessels operating on the east-west route to potentially utilise compliance generated from marine biodiesel blends bunkered in Singapore across other vessels that operate solely in Europe.
LNG sales picked up by 19.5pc on the quarter and soared by 76.6pc on the year ahead of the introduction of FuelEU Maritime regulations at the start of 2025. Fossil LNG, depending on the type of engine used on board, can help shipowners with LNG-capable vessels meet their FuelEU compliance targets for 2025. The Gate LNG import terminal is planning to start operations at a second jetty for LNG bunker vessels in 2028, pointing to expectations of greater demand. Bio-LNG sales were reported for the first time in 2024 since small volumes in 2021, ahead of FuelEU Maritime regulations.
Conventional bunker fuel sales comprising VLSFO, ultra-low sulphur fuel oil (ULSFO), marine gasoil (MGO), marine diesel oil (MDO), and high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) dipped by 4.7pc on the quarter but rose by 17.7pc on the year in October-December. VLSFO sales alone were marked higher than HSFO's for the first time at the port since the last three months of 2023. Total VLSFO volumes traded in the fourth quarter came to nearly 811,000t, down by 3pc from the previous quarter, while HSFO sales totalled 780,500t, down by 14pc.
Market participants attribute this retail drop-off to considerable local HSFO supply-side constraints at the end of 2024. Thin volumes produced by CDUs at refineries in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub meant imported volumes were needed to cover shortfalls. Refineries cut throughput runs, reducing residual byproduct output.
Biomethanol sales dropped by over half on the quarter, under pressure from thin trading activity, but were 86pc higher on the year in the final quarter of 2024. Shipping giant Maersk has signed several letters of intent for the procurement of biomethanol and e-methanol from producers such as Equinor, Proman and OCI Global. But the European Commission's proposal to exclude automatic certification of biomethane and biomethane-based fuels for the Union Database for Biofuels if relying on gas that has been transported through grids outside the EU, could slow some negotiations for 2025 imports of biomethanol of US origin into the EU.
| Rotterdam bunker sales | t | ||||
| Fuel | 4Q24 | 3Q24 | 4Q23 | q-o-q% | y-o-y% |
| VLSFO & ULSFO | 1,004,398 | 1,045,774 | 847,862 | -4 | 18.5 |
| HSFO | 780,437 | 906,737 | 643,218 | -13.9 | 21.3 |
| MGO/MDO | 395,903 | 334,752 | 361,585 | 18.3 | 9.5 |
| Conventional total | 2,180,738 | 2,287,263 | 1,852,665 | -4.7 | 17.7 |
| Biofuel blends | 118,201 | 137,175 | 233,108 | -13.8 | -49.3 |
| LNG (m³) | 263,068 | 220,120 | 148,933 | 19.5 | 76.6 |
| bio-LNG (m³) | 575 | 0 | 0 | na | na |
| biomethanol | 930 | 2,066 | 500 | -55 | 86 |
| Port of Rotterdam | |||||
