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ENGINE: Europe & Africa Bunker Fuel Availability Outlook

Low sulphur grades tight in ARA; HSFO limited in Las Palmas, tight in Gibraltar; long lead times for LSMGO and HSFO in South Africa.
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The following article regarding Europe and Africa bunker fuel availability has been provided by online marine fuel procurement platform ENGINE for post on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

1 March 2023

  • Low sulphur grades tight in ARA
  • HSFO limited in Las Palmas, tight in Gibraltar
  • Long lead times for LSMGO and HSFO in South Africa

Northwest Europe

Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO availability is very tight in the ARA bunkering hub, sources say. VLSFO availability is tight because of barge loading delays at terminals of up to 2-3 days, which has had a knock-on impact on fuel availability and bunker deliveries, sources say.

Lead times of 5-6 days are recommended for VLSFO stems in the ARA region, while LSMGO requires around 2-3 days of lead times – which is unusually long, sources say.

LSMGO could tighten further in the first two weeks of March, a source says, as large cargo volumes are being exported to Singapore and other places. This comes despite the ARA’s independent gasoil and diesel stocks swelling to two-year highs with inflows from China, India and Saudi Arabia. These imports have replaced banned Russian imports, particularly diesel.

The ARA’s fuel oil stocks averaged 2% lower in February than in January, despite indications of higher net imports. Russian fuel oil imports were phased out in January after making up 10% of the ARA’s total in December. The UK has become the ARA’s biggest source of fuel oil imports, with 19% of the total in February.

In Germany’s Hamburg, bunker fuel availability is currently normal and lead times of 5-6 days are advised, a source says.

VLSFO and LSMGO supply availability is normal for delivery off Skaw, requiring lead times of up to seven days, a source says. Securing prompt delivery of HSFO can be difficult there, the source adds.

Mediterranean

Prompt HSFO availability is tight in Gibraltar. Bunkering resumed last week after being suspended by rough weather for several days in mid-February. Suppliers were busy clearing backlogs last week, and that catch-up could have put pressure on fuel supply, sources say.

Possible weather disruptions are expected in the Gibraltar Strait ports of Gibraltar, Ceuta and Algeciras next week, sources say. This may affect bunkering operations in the ports and cause backlogs.

At least three suppliers in Algeciras are running behind schedule, sources say.

HSFO availability is tight in Las Palmas as suppliers are running low on stocks, a source says. One supplier in Las Palmas is mostly offering HSFO for delivery dates in mid-March, while another cannot commit to deliveries until the end of this month, a source says.

Bunker fuel availability is currently normal off Malta and in the Greek port of Piraeus, and recommended lead times are about five days for both locations, a source says. Bunker schedules came under pressure off Malta and in Piraeus in the second half of February, when vessels were diverted away from weather-stricken Gibraltar Strait ports to bunker in alternative locations.

Africa

Prompt LSMGO and HSFO availability is very tight in Durban and Algoa Bay, and lead times of up to 10 days are advised, a source says. VLSFO availability is normal.

Cloudy and rainy weather is forecast for the week ahead in the Mozambican port of Nacala, a source says. It could affect bunkering operations, but no vessels are currently scheduled to arrive for bunkers in the port this week.

Bunker demand has picked up in Mozambique’s capital city port of Maputo, meanwhile, with seven vessels scheduled to arrive for bunkers this week.

By Konica Bhatt

 

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 3 March, 2023

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Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.
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June 19, 2026

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Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

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June 19, 2026

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A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Alternative Fuels

MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.
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MOL inks bio-LNG bunker fuel supply deals with Titan and Axpo for car carriers in Europe

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) on Thursday (18 July) said it has signed new supply agreements in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean region to expand the use of bio-LNG marine fuel on MOL-operated LNG-fuelled car carriers.

Titan, part of Amsterdam-based Molgas, will continue to supply bio-LNG fuel in Northwest Europe, while Axpo will take charge of supply in the Mediterranean region.

MOL said the agreement makes it possible for its company to supply bio-LNG fuel for automobile carriers in the Mediterranean region, specifically Port of Malaga and Barcelona in Spain, following the bio-LNG fuel supply agreement in Western Europe, which commenced in March last year.

The bio-LNG fuel to be supplied in this initiative has a lifecycle carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy consumption) of -15 g-CO2/MJ or less, from production through consumption. Furthermore, this bio-LNG fuel has obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC-EU). 

“Through this supply agreement, MOL has established a framework that ensures a continuous and stable supply of bio-LNG fuel not only in Northern Europe but also in the Mediterranean,” the company said.

As part of the group’s efforts to adopt alternative fuels and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is utilising LNG-fuelled vessels as a bridge solution to facilitate the transition to carbon-neutral fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic LNG (e-methane).

In 2025, MOL signed a bio LNG fuel supply agreement in Northwest Europe with Titan, part of the Molgas, and MOL has continued this bio LNG fuel supply agreement with the same company in 2026 as well.

 

Photo credit: Mitsui OSK Lines
Published: 19 June, 2026

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