Asia/Pacific News
PetroChina Expands Low Sulfur Supply
China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co is to start selling low-sulfur bunkers at Yangshan port near Shanghai due to increased demand for the product, local media has reported.
Citing a company official, the report said the firm may start selling the 1.00% maximum sulfur fuel at the deep-water port as early as next week having recently imported 8,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil from Singapore.
Yangshan helped Shanghai earn the title of the world's busiest container port last year with the China Internet Information Center government web portal reporting annual container traffic volume surpassed 30 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo.
Fuel with a maximum sulfur content of 1.00% by weight has recently seen increased demand following the August 1, 2012 introduction of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) meaning all ships operating within 200 nautical miles of the U.S. and Canada coastline must use such a fuel.
However Rahul Choudhuri from DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS) told the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) Asia bunker forum in August that 10% of the 1.00% sulfur 380 cSt bunker fuel it tested since August 1, 2012 did not meet the not meet the 1.00% maximum sulfur limit.
About one third of the cases were said to have been found in Singapore, although Choudhuri noted there would always be more cases seen in the ports that sold the most bunkers.
