EMEA News
Bunker Sales Volume at Vladivostok Continues to Show Dramatic Decline
Bunker sales in Russia's Far East have continued their dramatic year-on-year decline, with data from Russian market specialists IAA PortNews showing the sales volume at Vladivostok for the seven months to July 2016 was about a third of that recorded in the period last year.
Specifically, the January to July 2016 period saw 221,400 tonnes (t) of bunkers sold, down from 619,000 t during the same period of last year.
Some 167,300 t of 2016's total was said to be HFO, with distillates accounting for the remainder.
The reduction in volume appears to be a product of stem size, rather than calls for bunkers, with the period in 2016 said to have seen 1,950 operations compared to 2,092 in 2015.
This year's decline has been an unfortunately familiar picture for all Russian ports in the region, with the once $100 to $150 per metric tonne (pmt) price advantage they once had over Singapore having been eroded into single figures.
If things were not bad enough for the Russian suppliers, last month Ship & Bunker reported that local players were at risk of bankruptcy following a change in policy at the country's Central Energy Customs (CEC).
