EMEA News
Rotterdam Bunker Sales Gain 2.7% in First Quarter Despite Pandemic
Bunker sales at Rotterdam, the world's second largest bunkering hub, climbed by 2.7% on the year in the first quarter.
Total sales excluding lubes climbed to 2.35 million cubic metres in the three months to March 31, according to the Port of Rotterdam, up by 4.5% from the previous quarter and by 2.7% from the same period a year earlier.
Fuel oil demand -- encompassing high sulfur fuel oil (HSFO), very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) and ultra low sulfur fuel oil (USLFO) -- rose by 0.2% on the year to 1.9 million cu m.
HSFO sales took up 32% of this total, VLSFO represented 52% and ULSFO took up 16%.
Marine gasoil sales gained 4.1% to 381,148 cu m, while marine diesel oil sales almost trebled to 65,131 cu m.
Marine lubricant demand rose by 8.5% to 21,401 cu m.
The port authority recorded a surprisingly fast gain in biofuel sales, with fuels blended with at least some biofuels now taking up 11% of fuel oil sales at the port -- up from 3% in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Meanwhile LNG bunker demand at the Dutch port -- recorded separately from the oil-based fuels and measured in metric tonnes -- rose to 15,710 mt in the first quarter, up from 9,197 mt in the previous quarter and from just 5,403 mt in the same period a year earlier.
