EMEA News
Regional Tensions Weigh Heavy on Fujairah Bunker Market
Against a backdrop of falling annual volumes, anecdotal evidence from players in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bunkering port of Fujairah confirms the impact of regional political tension on trade.
Speaking to price reporting agency Platts, bunker surveyor Viking Marine's managing director Vikram Mohan said the drop in shipping traffic from the Qatari blockade had been noticed.
"We weren't doing much Qatari-flagged vessels, but there has been a 10-15% overall drop in [ship] agency, [bunker] survey and port calls since the Qatari blockade," Mohan was quoted as saying.
Qatar is facing economic sanctions from other regional powers which has led to a ban on Qatari-flagged ships calling at Fujairah.
Sales of bunker fuel in the UAE port were down in the first five months of this year compared to a similar period last year based on market estimates.
