The following article regarding bunker fuel availability in the Americas region has been provided by online marine fuel procurement platform ENGINE for post on Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times:

• Weather-related bunkering disruptions in Houston
• Bad weather could disrupt St. Eustatius bunkering
• One bunker barge in Zona Comun is offline

North America

Houston’s port operations partially reopened on Wednesday after being shut down since Sunday due to Hurricane Beryl. The US Coast Guard (USCG) has allowed one-way barge traffic in parts of the Houston Ship Channel.

The Category 1 hurricane made landfall along the Texan coast on Monday morning, prompting the US Coast Guard to enforce “port condition Zulu” in several ports along the Gulf Coast. Zulu is applied when gale-force winds are expected within 12 hours.

The ports of Texas City and Galveston reopened to daylight traffic on Wednesday for vessels with a maximum draft of 30 feet. Ships with drafts of more than 30 feet are currently restricted in both locations.

There are some restrictions in place at the Port of Houston, and ships with drafts of up to 35 feet can only access the port, and only during daylight hours. The Port of Freeport is also allowing ships with drafts of up to 36 feet, but only during daylight hours.

Despite operations gradually resuming, recovery efforts continue to impact terminal operations along the ports on the Gulf Coast. Several oil terminals, crucial for bunker suppliers, remain offline due to power outages, hindering bunker barge reloadings at terminals.

One bunker supplier said that while their bunker barges are currently fully loaded, they expect resupply delays next week due to ongoing issues at oil terminals. Additionally, some loaded bunker vessels are unable to depart from terminals, preventing other vessels from loading products at the terminals.

Currently, the availability of fuel grades in Houston and several other US Gulf Coast ports is good. Demand has been very low for prompt delivery dates in Houston and other locations along the Gulf Coast.

The Port of Corpus Christi had to close from Sunday to Tuesday due to the hurricane, but port operations resumed again on Wednesday.

Demand in the West Coast ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles has remained low this week. Availability of all grades is normal, with lead times of around 5-7 days.

Similarly, much less demand has been observed in the East Coast port of New York, where most suppliers are willing to offer stems for very prompt dates.

Bunker fuel demand in Baltimore has been strong this week. Most suppliers are able to offer stems within 5–6 days of lead time.

Caribbean and Latin America

Bunker fuel demand has been good in Panama’s Balboa and Cristobal. VLSFO and LSMGO availability is also good in both locations, and several suppliers are able to supply all fuel grades with a lead time of 5-7 days. However, securing HSFO can take a little longer, with a lead time of more than seven days recommended.

Bunker deliveries are expected to be suspended in St. Eustatius later today due to strong wind gusts of up to 30 knots, which could intermittently disrupt bunker deliveries until Sunday.

VLSFO and LSMGO grades are readily available at Argentina’s Zona Comun anchorage. However, limited barge availability has continued to cause bunkering delays in Zona Comun. Bunker demand has been low in the past week compared to the previous weeks, a source says.

On top of this, in Zona Comun, the bunker barge Gustavo U has been undergoing inspection since 5 July, and will be in dry dock for most of next week as well, a source said.

Bunker fuel demand was mostly low in most of the Brazilian ports this week. VLSFO availability is good in most of the ports, according to most suppliers.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 12 July, 2024