ANALYSIS: Singapore Quarterly Bunker Sales Drop to Lowest Since Q3 2023

VLSFO saw the largest monthly gain in March. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

Q1 marine fuel sales in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, sank to the lowest quarterly level in more than a year despite a rally in March.

The city-state's total conventional and biofuel demand reached 4.43 million mt in March, up by 0.5% on the year and by 7.7% from February's level, according to the latest data from the Maritime and Port Authority.

That left the total for Q1 at 13 million mt, the least for any quarter since Q3 2023.

If the total from the first three months of the year were to be replicated over the rest of 2025, this year's total for Singapore would reach 52 million mt, down by 4.5% from 2024's record high.

Product Breakdown

VLSFO sales advanced by 12.9% on the month to 2.33 million mt in March. HSFO fell by 0.4% to 1.62 million mt, distillates rose by 6% to 333,600 mt and biofuel blends rose by 31.3% to 145,600 mt, a record high.

HSFO's share of the total was 36.5%, up from 36.4% the same month a year earlier.

Separately, LNG bunker sales jumped by 30% on the month to 39,000 mt in March-- the most since December -- while no methanol or ammonia sales were recorded.

Singapore has been including columns for biofuel blends, LNG and methanol sales since June 2023, and added columns for B100 and ammonia at the start of 2025.

Bunker Calls Advance

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

A total of 3,522 vessels came to Singapore's waters to bunker last month, up by 14.5% from February's level, by 0.8% on the year and the most since January.

That left the average conventional and biofuel bunker stem size last month at about 1,258 mt, compared with an average over the previous 12 months of 1,307 mt.

Prices

Singapore's average VLSFO price in March was $517/mt, down by 9.1% from February's level and by 19.5% from the level seen a year earlier.

Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports lost 6.8% on the month and 16.6% on the year to $554.50/mt in March.

Tanker Visits Drop

Tankers and bulkers saw a sharp drop in tonnage visiting Singapore last month. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

The total gross tonnage visiting Singapore sank by 2.1% on the year to 258.1 million mt in March.

This decline was led by the tanker segment, where calls by gross tonnage lost 8.8 million mt. Bulkers fell by 2.1 million mt, while container tonnage calls advanced by 5.2 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.