Image Credit: Ship & Bunker / Data Credit: Port of Rotterdam

• Total conventional bunker and biofuel sales: 1.75 million mt, down 26.7% YoY but up 4% QoQ.
• VLSFO sales: 354,448 mt, down 47.8% YoY; HSFO: 704,637 mt, down 23% YoY but up 13.8% QoQ.
• Biofuel blends: 239,875 mt, up 45.2% YoY and 129.3% QoQ, the highest quarterly volume since Q1 2024.
• LNG bunker sales: 273,021 m3, up 31.5% YoY and 2.1% QoQ; bio-LNG fell to 7,506 m3 from 15,260 m3 in Q1.
• Other fuels: Bio-methanol sales rose to 2,845 mt (from 996 mt in Q1), while bio-ethanol bunker sales totalled 1,025 mt.

The Port of Rotterdam recorded total conventional bunker and biofuel sales of 1.75 million mt in the second quarter of 2026, down 26.7% from the same period last year but 4% higher than the previous quarter, according to data released by Port of Rotterdam on Tuesday.

By comparison, about 2 million mt of conventional marine fuels and biofuels were sold at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Q2 2026, up 5.5% on the year.

Conventional Bunker Fuel Sales Continue to Slide

Conventional VLSFO sales fell 47.8% year on year and 19.4% from the previous quarter to 354,448 mt in Q2 2026, marking the seventh consecutive quarterly decline since Q3 2024.

HSFO sales declined 23% from a year earlier to 704,637 mt, although they were 13.8% higher than in the previous quarter.

ULSFO sales decreased 45.5% year on year to 123,190 mt.

MGO sales fell 13.5% to 266,570 mt, while MDO sales declined 35% year on year to 64,777 mt.

The decline in conventional fossil-based marine fuel sales was partly offset by higher biofuel blend volumes.

Biofuel Sales Double in Q2

Biofuel blend sales totalled 239,875 mt in the quarter, up 45.2% from a year earlier and more than a double from the previous quarter. The volume was the highest since Q1 2024.

The higher biofuel sales coincided with the Netherlands' implementation of RED III in January, which requires fuel suppliers to reduce the GHG intensity of their fuel pool by blending eligible renewable fuels, including marine biodiesel derived from Annex IX-A feedstocks.

LNG Sales Increase, Bio-Ethanol Makes Debut

Alternative marine fuels also recorded gains during the quarter.

LNG, which this article counts separately from conventional and biofuel sales, increased by 31.5% on the year to 273,021 m3 in Q2 2026. This figure was also up by 2.1% from the previous quarter.

However, 7,506 m3 of bio-LNG was sold in Q2, compared to 15,260 m3 recorded in Q1 2026.

The port also supplied 2,845 mt of bio-methanol in Q2, almost three times the 996 mt recorded in the previous quarter.

Rotterdam also recorded its first bio-ethanol bunker sales, with 1,025 mt delivered in Q2.

Last month, Ship & Bunker reported that Maersk's methanol dual-fuel feeder vessel Laura Maersk bunkered pure ethanol in Rotterdam.

Also in May, X-Press Feeders ship bunkered a ethanol-methanol blend in Rotterdam.

Prices

Rotterdam’s VLSFO price averaged $704.5.mt in Q2 2026, up from $541/mt in Q1 2026 and $473/mt in Q2 2025, according to Ship & Bunker price data.

Ship & Bunker's G20-VLSFO Index of average prices across 20 leading bunkering ports was $856.5/mt in Q2 2026, up from $639/mt in the previous quarter and $538/mt in Q2 2025.