World News
Bunker Quality Issues Aren't Going Away: OCM
The availability of IMO2020 grade fuels remains the biggest concern for bunker buyers, says Kumar Balian, Director – Sales & Technical Services at OceanConnect Marine (OCM), but he warns that bunker quality will increasingly become a factor going into 2020.
"There is already a wide range in quality of 0.50% products available in the market. This will increase as more suppliers bring their products in the coming weeks and months," Balian told SeaCred founder Jason Silber in the latest episode of its Ship Happens podcast.
"But the quality issues aren't going away. Managing the quality of bunkers from different suppliers will be vital."
Asked as to what is keeping people up at night, Balian said right now OCM's customers are worried about availability of the 0.50%S material at their ports of choice.
Price volatility is also a problem, and Balian does not see either of these factors settling out until the medium term.
While this could mean availability and pricing issues for the next six months, "it all depends, the market is changing every day," he adds.
The full Ship Happens podcast can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ship-happens/id1468911740
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 647.50 | 1.00 | 770.00 | 3.50 |
| Rotterdam | 601.50 | 2.50 | 754.00 | 2.00 |
| Houston | 619.00 | 11.50 | 795.50 | 3.00 |
| Fujairah | 651.50 | 1.00 | 895.00 | 2.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 664.00 | 1.50 | 856.50 | 2.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 630.00 | 3.00 | 803.50 | 2.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 718.00 | 0.50 | 914.50 | 0.50 |
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