S&B ANALYSIS: Singapore January Bunker Sales Lose 10.4% on Year

Singapore's bunker sales have dropped every month since October. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

Bunker demand in Singapore, the world's largest marine fuels hub, declined on both a yearly and monthly basis in January to the lowest level since September.

The city-state's total demand slipped to 4 million mt in January, according to preliminary data from the Maritime and Port Authority, down by 10.4% from the same month a year earlier and by 3.5% from December's level.

VLSFO sales fell by 3.4% on the month to 2.6 million mt, HSFO lost 2.1% to 1.1 million mt, distillates slipped by 1.9% to 349,900 mt and other fuels dropped to zero. HSFO's share of the total was 27.8%, up from 25.1% in the same month a year earlier.

The niche LNG bunker market in Singapore continues to grow, after seeing total sales of 50,000 mt last year, but LNG sales are not yet being included in the monthly figures.

Cooling Off

Singapore's sales continue to show signs of cooling off after a strong autumn; the sales total has now declined for every month since October. October's total was a five-month high, and saw the biggest month-on-month improvement since July 2020.

There were 3,115 vessel calls for bunkers in January, 0.9% higher than the level seen a month earlier. That left the average stem size last month at about 1,295 mt, compared with the 12-month average of 1,272 mt.

Bulker Decline

Bulkers saw the biggest decline in tonnage visiting Singapore in January. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

The total gross tonnage visiting Singapore dropped by 8.3% on the year to 234.6 million mt. This decline was led by the bulker segment, which lost 8.1 million mt, and by a 6.2 million mt drop in container tonnage.

Tanker tonnage lost 5.1 million mt on the year.

The mandatory mass flow meter systems used to measure all bunker deliveries in Singapore come with a +/-0.5% margin of error, a level considered more accurate than traditional measurement systems used at most other ports with the added benefit of all but eliminated volumetric malpractice.

Only licensed companies can supply bunkers in Singapore, and the MPA calculates sales based on the bunker delivery notes of those companies.