ANALYSIS: Singapore July Volumes Climb as Bunker Calls Hit Six-Month High

Singapore's sales advanced in July. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

Marine fuel sales in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, jumped on a yearly and monthly basis in July as bunker calls jumped to a six-month high.

The city-state's total conventional and biofuel demand reached 4.63 million mt in July, up by 2.8% on the year, by 9.5% from June's level and the most since May, according to the latest data from the Maritime and Port Authority.

If the total from the first seven months of the year were to be replicated over the rest of 2024, this year's total for Singapore would reach 54.19 million mt, up by 4.6% from 2023's record high.

Product Breakdown

VLSFO sales advanced by 6.6% on the month to 2.46 million mt in July, HSFO rose by 14.3% to 1.78 million mt, distillates climbed by 8.3% to 310,600 mt and biofuel blends rallied by 1.7% to 48,600 mt.

HSFO's share of the total was 38.5%, up from 33% the same month a year earlier.

Separately, LNG bunker sales fell by 16.4% on the month to 43,200 mt in July, down from a record monthly total the previous month, while no methanol sales were recorded.

Singapore has been including columns for biofuel blends, LNG and methanol sales since June 2023.

Bunker Calls Advance

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

A total of 3,557 vessels came to Singapore's waters to bunker last month, up by 6.1% from June's level and the most since January.

That left the average conventional and biofuel bunker stem size last month at about 1,300 mt, compared with an average over the previous 12 months of 1,284 mt.

Prices

Singapore's average VLSFO price in July was $625/mt, up by 3.6% from June's level and by 6.6% from the level seen a year earlier.

Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports gained 2.3% on the month and 5.2% on the year to $634.50/mt in July.

Tanker Visits Drop

The dry bulk segment saw the biggest increase of activity in Singapore last month. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: MPA

The total gross tonnage visiting Singapore rose by 2.4% on the year to 266.617 million mt in July.

This advance was led by the bulker segment, where calls by gross tonnage gained 7.22 million mt. Tankers rose by 5.5 million mt, while container tonnage calls dropped by 7.524 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.