Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Bunker Sales Continue at Record Highs After Another Impressive Month
Another impressive month of bunker sales in Singapore have kept year-to-date volumes in the world's biggest bunker market at record highs, according to the latest preliminary data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
Total sales of all products in July hit 4,393,700 metric tonnes (mt), the second highest monthly total ever, and second only to the 4,462,200 mt sold in January of this year.
As usual, IFO380 made up the majority (75.5%) of July's total with 3,306,300 mt sold, and the port's second most popular grade, 500 cSt material, saw sales of 845,400 mt - 19.2% of the total.
There were 3,386 calls for bunkers in July, a typical 29% of the total number of vessel calls, but overall bunker volumes were lifted with an average stem size for the month of 1,297 mt - some 9% higher than the 1,186 mt average from the previous 12 months.
The performance puts year-to-date volumes at 29,314,400 mt, 3% higher than the previous record seven-month total set last year, and with it presumably any remaining concern that the January 1, 2017 introduction of mass flow meters (MFMs) for MFO bunkering at the port would negatively impact sales.
