Asia/Pacific News
Singapore: HSFO Sales Rally on Scrubber-related Demand
Demand for heavy sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) in Singapore in November has rallied on strong demand, according to price reporting agency S&P Global Platts.
Citing market sources in the Southeast Asian bunkering hub, Platts said the buoyant demand for the high-sulfur material is in part driven by ships with scrubbers.
"A lot of ships that were installing scrubbers were stuck at yards because of delays caused by Covid-19," a source was quoted as saying. "But some of those retrofits have been completed now."
Price has also played a role with Singapore remaining competitive among regional ports.
Facilitating crew change may also explain the shape of the market.
Singapore's 'safe corridor' system for crew change under Covid-19 conditions has proved attractive to ship operators. Average crew sign ons and sign offs are running at between 500 to 600 a day, according to the port authority.
With HFSO sales notching up 1 million metric tonnes in October, the same or better, could be seen this month, sources believe.
