ANALYSIS: Singapore July Bunker Sales Gain 9.3% on Year

Singapore's bunker sales rallied in July after a sharp decline the previous month. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

Conventional bunker and biofuel blend sales volumes in Singapore, the world's largest marine fuels hub, jumped on both a monthly and yearly basis in July.

The city-state's total conventional and biofuel demand reached 4.5 million mt in July, according to preliminary data from the Maritime and Port Authority. The total was up by 9.3% from the same month a year earlier, by 14.9% from June's level and just short of the 4.52 million mt seen in May, which had been the highest monthly figure since January 2018.

January 2018's total of 4.61 million mt was the highest on record for Singapore.

Product Breakdown

VLSFO sales jumped by 13% on the month to 2.67 million mt in July, HSFO surged by 19.9% to 1.48 million mt, distillates advanced by 9.3% to 309,900 mt and biofuel blends grew by 13% to 39,900 mt.

HSFO's share of the total was 33%, up from 31.3% the same month a year earlier.

Separately, LNG bunker sales climbed by 2.2% on the month to 18,300 mt, while a methanol sales total of 300 mt was included for the first time.

Singapore has been including columns for biofuel blends, LNG and methanol sales since June. 

Bunker Calls Advance

The number of vessels calling at Singapore to bunker advanced on both a monthly and yearly basis in July.

A total of 3,511 vessels came to Singapore's waters to bunker in July, the most since May. The total was up by 10.4% on the year and by 4.2% from June's level.

That left the average conventional and biofuel bunker stem size last month at about 1,281 mt, the most since November 2022 and compared with an average over the previous 12 months of 1,249 mt.

Prices

Singapore's average VLSFO price in July was was $586/mt, according to Ship & Bunker data, down by 0.4% from June's level and by 41.7% from the level seen a year earlier. Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports gained 1.4% on the month and lost 38.5% on the year to $603/mt in July.

Boxship Visits Jump

Containers saw the most growth in gross tonnage visiting Singapore last month. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

The total gross tonnage visiting Singapore jumped by 5.5% on the year to 260.3 million mt in July. This advance was led by the container segment, where calls by gross tonnage gained 13.6 million mt. Bulker tonnage calls rose by 10 million mt, while tankers declined by 8.4 million mt.

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.