Bureau Veritas: VeriFuel Fuel Quality Testing Annual Report 2024

French testing, inspection and certification firm Bureau Veritas recently provided Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times a copy of its VeriFuel Fuel Quality Testing Annual Report 2024 which provides an overview of marine fuel quality, emerging trends, and compliance levels based on all tested bunker samples across its laboratories. The following is a summary of the report:

Quality Trends and Comparisons:

2024 vs. Previous Years

This section provides a year-over-year comparison of fuel quality, trends, and compliance.

Residual Fuels

The proportion of HSFO samples has increased over the last four years, driven by the growing number of scrubber-fitted vessels. In 2024, almost 1 out of 5 tested samples were HSFO [Figure 1].

Comparison to specification

• ULSFO out-of-spec samples have been decreasing since 2021, mainly due to sulphur and water content improvements.
• The number of VLSFO samples being out-of-spec has slightly decreased over the years.
• HSFO out-of-spec samples increased by approximately 0.5% in 2024, mainly due to water content.

VLSFO

Although the portion of VLSFO out-of-spec samples has steadily decreased since 2021, a slight increase in the samples within the 95% confidence limit was observed in 2024 compared to 2023 [Figure 3].

Viscosity trends

Since their introduction to the market in 2020, the VLSFOs have experienced a shift towards higher average viscosity @ 50 °C [Figure 4].

One of the major changes in ISO 8217:2024 is the introduction of minimum viscosity. As a result, approximately 35% of fuels classified as RMG380 in ISO 8217:2010/2012/2017 would not meet the ISO 8217:2024 RMG380 grade limits due to the minimum viscosity requirements [Figure 5].

There are notable regional differences when it comes to how well fuels supplied today would meet the ISO 8217:2024 limits [Figure 6]. In some major bunker ports such as Houston, Santos, Busan, as many as 75% would fail the ISO 8217:2024 RMG380 grade while in Algeciras, Zona Comun and Las Palmas most fuels would comply.

ULSFO

The portion of ULSFO out-of-spec samples has steadily decreased since 2021. A slight increase in the samples within the 95% confidence limit was observed in 2024 compared to 2023 [Figure 7].

HSFO

The portion of HSFO out-of-spec samples increased in 2024 compared to 2023, while the samples within the 95% confidence limit remained at a similar level.

Distillate fuel (DMA 0.10% sulphur)

The portion of out-of-spec DMA samples steadily increased, exceeding 3% in 2024. Samples within the 95% confidence limit follow the same trend with an increase in 2024 compared to previous years [Figure 9].

Photo credit: Bureau Veritas
Published: 12 March, 2025