Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: AMP

• May bunker sales lowest since September 2025
• VLSFO sales down 11% year-on-year
• HSFO sales down 20.8% year-on-year
• 562 bunker calls recorded in May - lowest monthly total since June 2024

Panama's total bunker sales in May were the lowest since September 2025 as bunker calls dipped, according to preliminary data from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) released this week.

A total of 394,655 mt of conventional bunker fuel was sold in May, down 13% on the year and 18.9% from the previous month of April.

246,449 mt of VLSFO was sold in May -- the lowest since September 2025. The figure was down 11% from a year earlier and 22.7% from April's volume.

HSFO sales were the lowest since November 2025. 99,660 mt of HSFO was sold in May, down 20.8% on the year and 5.1% from April’s volume.

HSFO accounted for 25.3% of total May bunker sales, down from a 27.8% share a year ago.

LSMGO sales dropped 13% on the year to 40,964 mt, while MGO sales gained 115.1% to 7,582 mt in May.

Lower bunker calls weighed on sales in May. A total of 562 bunker calls were recorded in May, down from 632 recorded in May 2025 and 679 in April 2026.

No bio-blended bunker sales have been recorded since November 2025.

30 barges supplied bunker fuels in May, one less compared to 31 in April.

The average stem size in Panama last month was about 702 mt, compared to an average over the previous 12 months of about 707 mt.

A total of 2.31 million mt of marine fuel was sold in the first five months of this year, up by 0.3% from the same period last year.

The average VLSFO price in Balboa was $942/mt last month, according to Ship & Bunker pricing data, up from $929.5/mt in April 2026 and $496.5/mt last year

Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports was $900/mt in May, up from $889.5/mt in the previous month and $529.5/mt last year.