World News
Global VLSFO Off-Spec Rate Sank in 2023: Verifuel
The share of VLSFO samples found to be off-specification sank last year, according to Bureau Veritas bunker monitoring unit Verifuel.
About 1.5% of the VLSFO samples analysed by Verifuel in the fourth quarter of 2023 were found to be off-specification, the company told Ship & Bunker on Friday. The figure was the same as in the previous quarter and down from 2.3% in Q4 2022.
That left the VLSFO off-spec rate for 2023 as a whole at 1.6%, down from 1.9% in 2022 and 2021.
Within Q4 the off-spec rate was at its lowest in November, at 1%, with the level in October and December reaching 2.3% and 1.3%, respectively.
Quality problems may have declined somewhat compared with last year with a falling bunker price delivering less incentive for blenders to compromise on quality to deliver lower prices.
The global average viscosity of all VLSFO samples the company analysed was 167 cSt in Q4, up from 164 cSt the previous quarter. Average density rose marginally to 947.1 kg/m3 from 946.5 kg/m3 the previous quarter.
Of the HSFO samples the company handled, the Q4 off-spec rate was 1.8%, up from 0.8% the previous quarter. The Q4 off-spec rate for MGO was 2.3%, up from 1.6% the previous quarter.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 611.00 | 1.50 | 730.00 | 7.00 |
| Rotterdam | 557.50 | 1.00 | 718.50 | 2.00 |
| Houston | 576.00 | 1.00 | 750.50 | 2.50 |
| Fujairah | 608.50 | 2.50 | 829.00 | 2.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 624.50 | 2.50 | 817.50 | 3.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 588.50 | 0.50 | 757.00 | 2.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 678.50 | 3.50 | 883.50 | 2.00 |
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