Marine fuel sales at Singapore take a dip amid high refuelling prices

Sales of marine fuel in Singapore plunged in June in the wake of soaring oil prices that reduced the number of ships calling at the port to refuel.

Vessels calling specifically for refuelling in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, fell to 2,940 – 7.2 per cent lower than in May and down from 3,242 in June last year, said the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Sales fell to 3.75 million tonnes, almost 9 per cent down on May, industry sources and government data showed.

A marine fuels procurement manager with a Chinese-owned container liner said the company’s vessels were literally “running on fumes” in June due to the high prices.

Low-sulphur marine fuels cost around $1,100 to $1,200 a tonne in June, compared with about $800 in May.

MPA data shows that sales in June of the most commonly traded low-sulphur grade dipped around 5.7 per cent to 1.9 million tonnes from May’s levels.

MPA data shows that sales in June of the most common high-sulphur grade came in at 1.05 million tonnes, the highest for the year.