Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

• April sales were the lowest since February 2025
• Total sales down 1.2% on year and 8.7% from March
• VLSFO sales drop 2% on year and 6.3% from March
• Biofuel bunker sales drop 33% on the year
• Container calls by tonnage rose while bulkers fell
• Bunker calls totalled 3,438 - down 1.9% on the year

April marine fuel sales in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, dropped to its lowest level since February 2025.

The city-state's total demand for conventional and biofuels reached 4.31 million mt in April, down 1.2% from last year and 8.7% lower than March bunker sales, according to data released on Thursday by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Sales in the first four months of 2026 totalled 18.82 million mt, up by 8.4% from 17.36 million mt for the same period last year.

This indicates that the Iran conflict has likely contributed to an increase in bunker demand in Singapore at the start of this year.

Singapore saw a record annual total of marine fuel sales in 2025 of 56.2 million mt.

If the first four months' sales levels were repeated across the whole of the year, this year's total would reach 56.5 million mt, up by 0.5% on the year.

Product Breakdown

VLSFO sales were 2.19 million mt in April – the lowest since February 2025 – and down 6.3% on the year and by 2% from March’s level.

HSFO sales totalled 1.79 million mt in April, up by 5.1% from last year, but down by 7.6% from the previous month of March.

Distillate sales dropped sharply in April and touched 256,100 mt – the lowest since at least January 2023. Sales were 18.6% lower on the year and 27.3% from March levels.

MGO prices have seen the sharpest impact from the Middle East conflict, and this may have prompted lower consumption.

Biofuel bunker blend sales sank by 33% on the year and 19.5% down on the month to 74,400 mt in April.

LNG bunker sales - which this article counts separately from the conventional and biofuel bunker total reported above – inched up 1% on the year but dropped by 13.5% on the month to 42,400 mt in April.

No methanol or ammonia bunker sales were recorded in April.

Bunker Calls Drop on Both Yearly and Monthly Basis

In April, Singapore saw a total of 3,438 calls for bunkers, down by 1.9% from last year and 1.8% from the previous month of March.

That left the average conventional and biofuel bunker stem size at about 1,253 mt in April, compared to a 12-month average of 1,338 mt.

Prices

Singapore's average VLSFO price in April was $776/mt, according to Ship & Bunker prices, compared to $502/mt last year and $920/mt in March 2026.

Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports was $889.5/mt in April, up from $531/mt in April 2025.

While bunker prices have retreated from the multi-year highs reached in March, the market remains volatile following military strikes carried out by US and Israeli forces on Iran on February 28 and uncertainty over the current temporary ceasefire.

Container Visits Increase While Bulkers Drop

Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

The total gross tonnage visiting Singapore inched up by 0.1% on the year to 261 million GT in April.

Container gross tonnage rose by 6.5 million GT on the year, while bulker tonnage dropped by 4.5 million GT.

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 eliminating volumetric malpractice.

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