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Singapore’s bunker sales fall in May
Singapore’s bunker sales fall in May
Singapore, 15 June (Argus) — Total sales at the bunker hub of Singapore fell by 6.8pc on the year to 4.55mn t in May, but recovered by 4.5pc on the month from a weak April, according to data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) released today. May demand rebounded from April, when sales hit a 14-month low . Weak demand for conventional bunkers due to the US-Iran war continued to weigh on fuel supplies as well as demand from ships refuelling at the port, said local traders. Some ships have changed routes and diverted to China due to cheaper fuel options, while there were less bunkering opportunities for larger ships like VLCCs due to the reduced supplies coming out from the strait of Hormuz, said traders and a shipping broker. Very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) consumption fell by 6.5pc on the year to 2.29mn t in May, while high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) sales fell by 5.2pc on the year to 1.79mn t. Likewise, sales of low-sulphur marine gasoil (LSMGO) fell by 4.3pc on the year to over 327,000t. More charterers and shipowners reduced bunker purchases and took only minimal quantities for voyages, given higher prices in May. Competitive prices at other regional Asian ports, like Zhoushan, weighed on overall bunker demand in Singapore. This trend has extended to June, with spot demand remaining slow and smaller stems traded for key bunker grades, said traders and suppliers. Meanwhile, vessel arrivals rose by over 3pc on the year and almost 8pc on the month to 11,729, which provided some support to bunker demand compared with April despite cautious buying sentiment. Singapore's VLSFO sales rose by 4.7pc on the month while HSFO sales increased slightly by 0.4pc in May. LSMGO sales were also up by around 28pc on the month. On the alternative fuel front, the total volume of all alternative marine fuels bunkered in Singapore fell by 23pc on the year in May. A total of 137,800t of alternative fuels were bunkered in May and the year-to-date total stands at 650,100t. A total of 1.6mn t of alternative marine fuels was bunkered in Singapore in 2025, including all biofuel blends, B100 and LNG. The sharpest drop among all green marine fuels came from biofuels in May. Demand for biofuels in shipping plunged by 57pc on the year to 60,800t for May from a year earlier. Among the biofuel blends, VLSFO blend consumption fell by 62pc on the year to 36,400t, the lowest in more than two years. The last time B24 and B30 VLSFO blend demand fell below 30,000-40,000t was in February 2024. Stronger economics due to the rise in conventional bunker prices since the war started has also pushed ship owners to consider bunkering B100 and mass balancing to meet compliance requirements. B100 consumption in Singapore increased more than fivefold from a year earlier to a record high of 12,800t in May. Demand for LNG as a bunker fuel continued to grow, rising by 56pc on the year to a fresh monthly record high of 70,300t. The number of LNG dual-fuelled vessels in order books is higher compared with other newbuilds fuelled by other sustainable fuels, industry data show. The expected delivery of a number of newbuilds this year among key shipowners has also kept the momentum high in terms of demand. Total LNG bunker sales in Singapore stood at 263,300t on a year-to-date basis, and is on track to breach last year's total at 571,400t by the end of 2026. By Mahua Mitra and Cassia Teo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Shipowners remain cautious on US-Iran deal announcement
Shipowners remain cautious on US-Iran deal announcement
Singapore, 15 June (Argus) — Freight market participants are choosing to remain cautious about the announcement that a deal between the US and Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz has been reached, preferring to seek clearer assurances on the safety of ships transiting through the strait first, they told Argus today. This comes after a series of false starts around similar developments in recent months. US president Donald Trump said on 14 June that an agreement with Iran was "now complete", as he ordered an end to the US naval blockade against Iran in conjunction with what he said would be the reopening of the strait of Hormuz. The critical waterway, where a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade travelled through before the war, remained largely shut since the war started on 28 February, as Iran tightened control by restricting vessel movements and using access as leverage. Beyond the disruption to global trade flows, security risks also escalated as commercial shipping became increasingly targeted. There have been 57 recorded incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Mideast Gulf, the strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman since 28 February, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations as of 11 June. Freight market participants so far remain doubtful that a sustained and meaningful return of ships through the strait will happen anytime soon, with most citing the fragility of earlier ceasefire announcements. The risk of repositioning a ship to the Mideast Gulf for potential cargoes still significantly outweighs any advantage from the move given that the situation can change quickly, a tanker shipowner said. Shipowners have adapted and found new trade routes in the absence of Mideast Gulf cargoes as a result of economies turning to more distant alternative oil supplies . Shipowners are also unlikely to benefit from any "first-mover advantage" by positioning their ships in the region ahead of any clear rebound in vessel demand, a freight analyst said. Shipowners can only weigh whether freight rates are sufficiently attractive to return to the Mideast Gulf if cargoes from the region appear again. Shipowners will simply remain in lower-risk regions out of the Mideast Gulf should freight rates remain unattractive, the analyst added. A sustained recovery in cargo volumes from the region could eventually raise freight rates over some time, and shipowners that have chosen to wait and observe how the market reacts may benefit from higher freight rates when they choose to re-enter the market later. The situation is likely to remain volatile given that a full and final agreement between the US and Iran has not yet been reached, a shipowner said. This is in addition to mines in the area which pose a threat to ships and will hinder vessel transits in or out of the strait, the shipowner added. A gradual return to the region is possible if security conditions stabilise and cargo flows resume, with any recovery expected to be measured instead of immediate, some market participants said. The Mideast Gulf remains the world's largest oil-producing region, and global demand will underpin the return of ships back to the region over time, a shipbroker said. Coordination between governments and maritime bodies will also be critical, another shipowner said, as the industry ultimately seeks clearer assurances on security conditions in the Mideast Gulf that would restore confidence and accelerate a broader return of vessels to the region. By Sean Lui and Jared Bateman Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Crude futures drop on US-Iran peace deal announcement
Crude futures drop on US-Iran peace deal announcement
Singapore, 15 June (Argus) — Crude futures fell by about 4pc in early trading today on announcements that a deal between the US and Iran has been reached, raising expectations of the likelihood of an imminent reopening of the strait of Hormuz. The front-month August Ice Brent contract dropped to $83.24/bl as of 11:00 Singapore time (03:00 GMT), down by 5pc from the close on 12 June. The July Nymex WTI contract dropped more sharply to $80.17/bl, down by 5.5pc from 12 June. US president Donald Trump on Sunday said that an agreement with Iran was "now complete" . "I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade," Trump wrote in a post on Truth social at 5:29pm ET (21:29 GMT). "Ships of the World, start your engines." Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the agreement will kick off a 60-day period of further negotiations, which would include the removal of all sanctions against Iran, the handling of Iran's nuclear programme, economic reconstruction and mechanisms to implement the agreement, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency. Global leaders have begun issuing responses to the news of the deal. France, the UK, Germany and Italy released a joint statement saying that they are "prepared to lift relevant sanctions [on Iran] in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear programme", and that "Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon". The countries will also provide their support in efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz "including through a strictly defensive and independent mission to reassure commercial shipping and conduct mine clearance operations", they said. The official signing of the deal will take place on 19 June in Switzerland, said Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been facilitating negotiations between the US and Iran. Mediators will hold meetings this week laying the groundwork for technical talks and the official signing, he said. "Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon," Sharif wrote in a post on social media. It remains unclear if tankers and other commercial vessels that have been stuck in the Mideast Gulf for months would be able to immediately start crossing the strait of Hormuz, portions of which have been mined. Iranian officials have yet to confirm whether ships can cross the strait without adhering to requirements they have attempted to impose on maritime traffic. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Kuwait eyes regional pipeline tie-ups to bypass Hormuz
Kuwait eyes regional pipeline tie-ups to bypass Hormuz
Dubai, 10 June (Argus) — Kuwait's state-owned KPC is exploring potential tie-ups with fellow Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries Saudi Arabia and the UAE that could help move its crude and oil products in the event of any future disruptions to flows through the strait of Hormuz. Kuwait is totally dependent on the strait to export its crude and oil products, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pipelines that allow them to divert a share of their oil to ports outside the strait. That has helped them better navigate the more than three-month closure of Hormuz triggered by the start of the US-Iran war on 28 February. "We are in discussions with our brothers in Saudi Arabia and in the Emirates to look at how to expand the pipeline system that they have to accommodate Kuwaiti barrels coming up," KPC chief executive Sheikh Nawaf al-Sabah told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum. Saudi Arabia's 7mn b/d capacity East-West pipeline can carry crude from the Abqaiq oil processing complex in the Eastern Province to the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea for export. The UAE's 1.7mn b/d Adcop pipeline carries crude from Habshan in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah, outside the strait of Hormuz. Sheikh Nawaf said the GCC typically has a mechanism that if one member cannot export oil for whatever reason, another with additional capacity could export on their behalf "and tally it up afterwards." But since "nobody has that capacity" given the situation in the strait, "instead, we are working with our brothers to look at pipeline capacity that can grow out," he said. He did not specify which projects Kuwait was studying with its neighbors. The KPC chief did caution, however, that an alternative export route would not totally insulate Kuwait, or any other country, from risk. Pipelines "are only as safe as the export facility at the end of it," Sheikh Nawaf said. "And you've seen how Iran has targeted both the Saudi and Emirati pipelines, and how those [attacks] have been effective, to a certain degree." Fujairah was targeted on five separate occasions between late February and early June, according to Argus tracking, Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port was targeted once, and the East-West pipeline was targeted once , temporarily reducing throughput capacity by around 700,000 b/d. "A long pipeline needs compression. So, if you hit one node of that compression, you've got to rebuild that," said Sheikh Nawaf. "The easiest thing to rebuild or replace is the pipeline itself. But if you hit the compression facility, that takes more time." "And worse yet, is if you hit the export facility, because then, the pipeline is essentially useless," he said. "And we would have to work together with our partners [to recover]." Swift-ish recovery The disruption of oil flows through the strait of Hormuz forced Kuwait to scale back its crude production capacity to about 25pc of pre-conflict levels. "We took our production levels down at the beginning of the war, carefully and methodically, to what is only required for local consumption in Kuwait, because we could not export anything," Sheikh Nawaf said. Latest Argus estimates put Kuwaiti crude output at 580,000 b/d in May, compared with 2.59mn b/d in February. Many weeks of on-and-off diplomacy between Iran and the US has not led to clarity on when marine traffic could meaningfully recover, but Sheikh Nawaf said when it does Kuwait should be able to resume the majority of its production within less than a month. "We could get back to 80pc of our shut-in production [back] in less than a month, probably three weeks, because we have resilient reservoirs," he said. With around 2mn b/d of crude output shut-in, this would imply a return of 1.6mn b/d within weeks, lifting output to around 2.1mn b/d. Sheikh Nawaf suggested the shut-in of some reservoirs may have "benefited" them because it "allowed them to settle and recharge, essentially, the underground pressure." But he said the final 20pc "is always the hardest," which could take another "three to four months" to recover. By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
