World News
Some Major Bunker Markets Do Not Have Refining Capacity to Offer Enough Compliant Fuel Come 2020: IBIA
Some of today's major bunker markets do not have the refining capacity to offer sufficient compliant fuels once the 2020 0.50 percent global sulfur cap for marine fuel comes into force, according to IBIA.
In a commentary published Monday, IBIA said "several" countries at the 70th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) voiced that they would not be able to meet compliant fuel demand in 2020 - and for some even the now discounted alternative start date of 2025 would have been a struggle.
"Some of these countries are major bunker markets today, providing large quantities of residual fuel oil to ships calling at their ports, and some are also major providers of residual fuels to bunker markets in other countries," wrote IBIA.
IBIA stopped short of naming which markets are in danger, but noted that those affected will have to rely on imports to maintain or grow volume - something some major bunkering hubs already do.
Earlier this year, Adrian Tolson, Senior Partner, 20|20 Marine Energy, told Ship & Bunker he expected major bunkering ports such as Singapore to benefit from the new cap, as it is expected they will have a plentiful supply of the least expensive compliant fuels.
This point was echoed by IBIA, who added that "the losers" would be the markets unable to maintain a supply of competitively priced compliant fuels.
The irony, IBIA notes, is that the struggle to move compliant product to markets around the globe will itself cause an increase in shipping emissions - the opposite of what IMO is trying to achieve.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 649.50 | 2.00 | 778.50 | 8.50 |
| Rotterdam | 602.00 | 0.50 | 748.00 | 6.00 |
| Houston | 624.00 | 5.00 | 792.00 | 3.50 |
| Fujairah | 649.50 | 2.00 | 898.00 | 3.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 662.00 | 2.00 | 855.00 | 1.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 631.00 | 1.00 | 804.00 | 0.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 717.50 | 0.50 | 913.50 | 1.00 |
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