World News
Global VLSFO Off-Spec Rate Drops to Lowest Since at Least 2020: Verifuel
The global off-specification rate for VLSFO samples has dropped to its lowest level in at least five years, according to Bureau Veritas bunker monitoring service VeriFuel.
Just 1.1% of VLSFO samples seen by Verifuel in the first quarter were noted to be off-specification, the company told Ship & Bunker on Monday, down from 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and from 1.8% in the first quarter of 2025. The rate was the lowest seen since at least 2020.
But while quality problems for the quarter as a whole declined, they advanced within the quarter, with the VLSFO off-specification rate rising from 0.9% in January to 1% in February and 1.4% in March.
The rise in March may be an early indicator of the Middle East situation starting to cause quality problems in the bunker supply chain. The current high price for bunker fuel and shortage of middle distillate products may result in unusual components being blended into the VLSFO pool in a bid to save money.
The global HSFO off-specification rate was 1.3% in Q1, according to Verifuel, up from 0.7% the previous quarter but down from 1.9% in the same period a year earlier.
The global Q1 MGO off-specification rate was 2.8%, down from 3.4% in Q4 but up from 2.2% in Q1 2025.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 963.00 | 26.00 | 1351.50 | 10.50 |
| Rotterdam | 766.00 | 3.00 | 1446.00 | 11.50 |
| Houston | 817.00 | 11.50 | 1421.00 | 1.00 |
| Fujairah | 981.00 | 12.00 | 1768.50 | 17.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 929.50 | 10.50 | 1565.00 | 13.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 882.00 | 13.50 | 1496.50 | 9.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 978.50 | 20.00 | 1616.50 | 18.50 |
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