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

• Total conventional and biofuel sales drop 0.4% to 9.36 million mt in 2025 - lowest since 2020
• VLSFO sales dip 7.4% year-on-year to 2.9 million mt
• HSFO was the most bunkered grade, with 3.4 million mt sold in 2025
• MGO sales jump 22% year-on-year to 1.3 million mt
• Biofuel bunker sales shrink to the lowest level since 2021
• LNG sales grew 5.5% year-on-year
• Q4 volume up 2% year-on-year to 2.3 million mt

Annual conventional and biofuel bunker fuel sales at Rotterdam, the world's second-largest bunkering location, fell to its lowest level since 2020 as VLSFO and biofuel volumes dropped.

The port saw a total of 9.36 million mt of conventional bunker and biofuel blend sales last year, down slightly by 0.4% from 9.39 million sold in 2024, according to the latest data from the Port of Rotterdam.

Rotterdam's Q4 conventional and biofuel sales rose by 2% year on year to 2.3 million mt, indicating some late-year improvement despite the softer full-year result.

However, conventional bunker sales (excluding biofuels) rose by 1% to 8.73 million mt in 2025 - highest since 2022.

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

The combined conventional and biofuel bunker sales marks the lowest annual volume since 2020 and extends the port's declining trend to a third consecutive year.

The overall drop was led by weaker VLSFO demand. Sales of the grade fell by 7.4% year on year to 2.9 million mt from 3.1 million mt in 2024. However, part of that decline was offset by stronger HSFO and MGO volumes.

HSFO sales rose 2.7% to 3.4 million mt, making it the most-sold bunker grade in Rotterdam in 2025. HSFO accounted for 36.6% of the total conventional and biofuel sales in 2025, up from 35.5% in 2024.

At the same time, VLSFO accounted for 30.5% of the total sales in 2025, down from 32.8% in 2024.

MGO sales jumped by 22% year-on-year to 1.3 million mt in 2025, while ULSFO sales grew by 15.6% to 864,782 mt.

MDO sales dipped by 26% to 337,286 mt.

At the same time, biofuel blend demand weakened. Rotterdam saw 629,706 mt of bio-blended bunker sales in 2025, down 16.3% from 752,103 mt in 2024 and the lowest level since 2021. This could be due to recent changes to biofuel subsidies in the Netherlands. 

LNG bunker volumes were also lower in the port.

Conventional LNG sales rose by 5.5% on the year to 992,911 m3 in 2025, while bio-LNG volumes rose to 17,644 m3 from 2,775 m3 in 2024.

Meanwhile, about 11,819 mt of bio-methanol was sold last year, up from 3,946 mt sold in 2024.

Singapore, the world's largest bunkering location, saw annual bunker sales increase by 3.2% from record high of 2024.