Americas News
Panama Bunker Sales Jump to Highest in Year
Bunker sales volumes in Panama reached the highest level in a year in March.
Total sales reached 439,028 mt in March, according to data from the Panama Maritime Authority, the highest level since the same month a year earlier. The total was down by 2% from March 2020 but up by 4.9% from February's level.
Global bunker sales have been rallying from last year's lows as the shipping industry swerved a prolonged slump from the COVID-19 crisis. Bunker volumes at the world's largest hubs sank by 6.3% overall last year, according to Ship & Bunker and BLUE Insight's quarterly survey.
The number of ships coming to Panama to bunker sank by 9.3% on the year to 584, taking the average stem size up by 8% to about 752 mt last month. Over the past 12 months the average stem size was about 744 mt.
VLSFO sales dropped by 10.9% from a year earlier to 314,859 mt, while HSFO sales surged by 120% to 76,569 mt. HSFO took a 17.4% share of total sales in March, up from 7.8% a year earlier.
MGO sales sank by 78.9% on the year to 10,692 mt, while low-sulfur MGO more than tripled to 33,908 mt.
