Asia/Pacific News
ANALYSIS: Singapore 2023 Bunker Sales Head for Record High
Singapore's conventional bunker and biofuel blend sales dropped on a monthly and yearly basis in November, but the city-state's total for this year is still heading for a record high.
The city-state's total conventional and biofuel demand reached 4.26 million mt in November, according to preliminary data from the Maritime and Port Authority. The total was down by 2.6% from the same month a year earlier and by 2.9% from October's level.
The total for 2023 is currently heading for about 50.9 million mt, beating the previous record high set in 2017.
Product Breakdown
VLSFO sales fell by 7% on the month to 2.34 million mt in November, HSFO advanced by 6.3% to 1.54 million mt, distillates sank by 5.8% to 314,100 mt and biofuel blends dropped by 27.3% to 57,500 mt.
November's HSFO total was the highest since October 2019, before the 0.50% sulfur cap came into force in January 2020. HSFO's share of the total was 36.2%, up from 29.5% the same month a year earlier.
Separately, LNG bunker sales dropped by 55.3% on the month to 7,200 mt in November, the least since May, while no methanol sales were recorded.
Singapore has been including columns for biofuel blends, LNG and methanol sales since June.
Bunker Calls Decline
The number of vessels calling at Singapore to bunker advanced on a yearly basis in November, but declined from October's level.
A total of 3,404 vessels came to Singapore's waters to bunker in November. The total was up by 3.2% on the year, but down by 3.9% from October's level and the lowest total since June.
That left the average conventional and biofuel bunker stem size last month at about 1,251 mt, compared with an average over the previous 12 months of 1,162 mt.
Prices
Singapore's average VLSFO price in November was $685.50/mt, up by 2.5% from October's level and by 0.7% from the level seen a year earlier.
Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports lost 0.7% on the month and 6.3% on the year to $668/mt in November.
Boxship Visits Jump
The total gross tonnage visiting Singapore jumped by 6.7% on the year to 265,224 million mt in November. This advance was led by the container segment, where calls by gross tonnage gained 11.5 million mt. Bulker tonnage calls rose by 7.1 million mt, while tankers declined by 2.9 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.
About Jack Jordan
Jack Jordan is the Managing Editor of Ship & Bunker, the world’s most read marine fuel-focused publication.
He is an experienced financial editor and reporter with a first-class degree in Arabic and Russian, a postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism and several years' history of covering the oil and shipping industries and capital markets.
Jack is based in London, UK.
About Ship & Bunker
Ship & Bunker is the world's most read publication focused on the marine fuel markets. Completely independent, it is the leading industry authority providing comprehensive daily news, exclusive in-depth features and analysis, along with daily & historical bunker price indications.
To contact the editor responsible for this story email us at editor@shipandbunker.com
