Q4 Drop Sends Rotterdam 2023 Bunker Sales Down by 8.3% on Year

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Thursday January 25, 2024

Bunker sales at the Port of Rotterdam, the world's second-largest marine fuels hub, sank to the lowest level in more than four years in the fourth quarter.

Total conventional and biofuel sales dropped to 2.085 million mt in the last three months of the year, according to data published on Thursday by the Port of Rotterdam. The total was down by 11.3% from the previous quarter, by 27.9% from Q4 2022 and the lowest quarterly figure since Q3 2019.

That left Rotterdam's annual total at 9.633 million mt, down by 8.3% from the previous year and the least since 2021.

Conventional VLSFO sales lost 33.3% on the year to 681,375 mt in Q4, HSFO sank by 23.5% to 643,218 mt, ULSFO dropped by 41.2% to 166,289 mt, MGO fell by 9.1% to 213,408 mt and MDO advanced by 2.6% to 148,177 mt. Biofuel blend sales slipped by 13.7% to 232,607 mt.

At the same time, LNG bunker sales surged by 154.2% on the year to 148,933 m3 in Q4, after sales recovered from 2022's lows as LNG bunker prices dropped. Rotterdam also noted 500 mt of biomethanol bunker sales in the three-month period.