The Port of Rotterdam Authority recently published bunker fuel sales data for the second quarter (Q2) of 2026.

Deliveries of ultra low sulphur fuel oil, very low sulphur fuel oil, high sulphur fuel oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil in Q2 2026 (against on year) recorded respectively 123,190 metric tonnes (mt) (+33%  from 162,142 mt), 354,448 mt (-9.1% from 439,804 mt), 704,637 mt (+10.9% from 619,010 mt), 266,570(+18% from 273,696 mt), 64,777 mt (-8.2% from 86,821 mt). 

Bio-blended variants of ultra low sulphur fuel oil, very low sulphur fuel oil, high sulphur fuel oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil in Q2 2026 (against on year) recorded respectively 22,032 mt (-28.3% from  24,573 mt), 144,665 mt (-57% from 68,271 mt), 30,191 mt (+15.3% from 38,490 mt), 34,574 mt (+627.7% from 31,663 mt) and 8,413 mt (-30.2% from 2,223 mt).

Port data showed 273,021 m3 of liquefied natural gas (LNG) being delivered as a marine fuel in Q2 2026, down by 17.4% from 207,658 m3 in Q2 2025. Bio-methanol and bio-blended LNG recorded 2,845 mt and 7,506 m3 respectively in Q2 2026.

Ethanol as a bunker fuel was reported in Rotterdam for the first time with 1,025 mt delivered in Q2 2026,  following an ethanol-methanol blend bunkering operation of container vessel Eco Levant in May.

Manifold Times previously reported Evos Rotterdam holding a ground-breaking ceremony for its methanol and ethanol expansion project at the Port of Rotterdam, formally starting the construction phase of a major investment in additional terminal capacity.

Once operational in early 2028, the expansion will give Evos Rotterdam greater capacity to handle methanol and ethanol for industrial customers, as well as for the developing market in cleaner, low-carbon marine fuels and bunkering.

Shipping giant A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) recently announced a new milestone in its marine fuel trials, with its dual-fuel feeder vessel Laura Maersk successfully operating on 100% ethanol for a second time.

The latest trial marked a significant step forward from earlier tests, as the vessel was supplied through a larger-scale bunkering operation conducted by barge in Rotterdam.

Related: X-Press Feeders, METHANAVE complete first ethanol-methanol bunkering op in Rotterdam
Related: Maersk advances ethanol fuel trials with larger-scale Rotterdam bunkering

Photo credit: Port of Rotterdam
Published: 29 July, 2026

Once a week, bunker intelligence platform ENGINE will publish a snapshot of alternative and conventional bunker fuel prices in the world’s two biggest bunkering hubs. The following is the latest snapshot:

27 July 2026

• Rotterdam B100 flips to $110/mt premium over VLSFO
• Singapore B100 loses cost edge against LSMGO
• LBM swings to $25/mt premium over VLSFO for Otto MS engines

OceanScore’s FuelEU pooling price index has fallen to €131.75/mtCO2e ($150/mtCO2e), down by around €28/mtCO2e ($32/mtCO2e) over the past week.

Over the same period, ENGINE-assessed FuelEU Maritime pooling values for B100 and liquefied biomethane (LBM) on EU-EU voyages have decreased by $86/mt and $120-140/mt, respectively.

The retreat has been steeper over the past month, but most of it has come in the past week.

OceanScore’s FuelEU pooling price index has slumped by €40/mtCO2e ($46/mtCO2e) since 29 June, with roughly 70% of that fall coming in the past week.

The drop in the underlying benchmark has cut B100’s potential pooling value by $123/mt in the past month to $405/mt.

LBM has been hit even harder, with its pooling values sliding by $171-201/mt over the same period to $562-659/mt.

Liquid fuels

The decline in B100’s pooling value for EU-EU voyages has hurt the fuel’s affordability in Rotterdam, where its bunker price has climbed by $144/mt over the past week.

As a result, B100 has moved to a $110/mt premium over Rotterdam’s VLSFO from a $105/mt discount seen the week before.

B100’s discount to LSMGO has narrowed by $201/mt to $340/mt over the past week, with a $57/mt decline in Rotterdam’s LSMGO price adding to the contraction.

Singapore’s HSFO and VLSFO benchmarks have edged down by $6-7/mt, while its LSMGO price has declined by $17/mt over the past week.

The port’s B100 benchmark has gained $91/mt, driven by a rise in the outright price and a $43/mt drop in B100’s pooling value for EU-nonEU voyages. Singapore’s B100 has shifted to a $2/mt premium over its LSMGO, from a $106/mt discount in the prior week.

Liquid gases

The decline in LBM’s pooling values for EU-EU voyages has erased the fuel’s price advantage over VLSFO in Rotterdam for dual-fuel vessels with Otto medium-speed (Otto MS) engines.

LBM has flipped to a $25/mt premium over VLSFO for vessels with Otto MS engines, from a $203/mt discount a week earlier.

For vessels with diesel slow-speed (diesel SS) engines, LBM maintains a discount to VLSFO in Rotterdam. But that discount has narrowed by $248/mt over the past week to $149/mt.

LBM discounts to LSMGO in Rotterdam have also narrowed by $215-234/mt over the past week to $424-598/mt, depending on the engine type.

Its discounts to LNG have narrowed by $114-115/mt over the past week to $289-297/mt.

By Konica Bhatt

Photo credit and source: ENGINE
Published: 28 July, 2026

As Red Sea hostilities continue to force widespread maritime diversions around the Cape of Good Hope, bunker company Peninsula on Friday (24 July) warned of a “perfect storm” for global tanker operators.

The unprecedented surge in tonne-mile demand is now intersecting with stringent Mediterranean emissions regulations, threatening to more than double operational costs and severely tighten bunker supply at alternative key ports.

With the Bab el-Mandeb Strait increasingly bypassed, vessels are exiting the Red Sea via the Suez Canal and navigating westbound through the Mediterranean to reach Asia.

Peninsula noted that this detour could more than double the normal tonne-mile demand of a Bab el-Mandeb eastbound exit. For a typical Suezmax tanker, the diversion will require around 1,500 metric tonnes (mt) of additional fuel, at a cost of circa USD 800,000, and an emissions cost of roughly 3,800 mt of CO2.

Spot rates for Suezmax vessels – the largest tankers that can transit the Suez Canal fully laden – are already increasing, causing a scramble to cover the cargoes before the tonne-mile effect kicks in.

Kenny MacLean, Chief Operations Officer at Peninsula, said: “The industry could be dealing with a sudden, significant increase in fuel consumption. This is more complex than simply plotting a longer course – it will require a fundamental recalibration of voyage economics that will squeeze global bunker supply at a time when demand already outstrips supply.”

Beyond the raw cost of fuel, Peninsula is highlighting a critical regulatory blind spot for rerouted vessels – the Mediterranean Emissions Control Area (MedECA). Under these rules, vessels transiting the entire Mediterranean must burn fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.1%, rendering standard Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) non-compliant.

With European authorities increasingly deploying “sniffer drones” to remotely analyse vessel emissions in real-time, operators must switch to compliant Marine Gas Oil (MGO) or suitable biofuels before entering the region. Failure to secure compliant fuel risks severe fines and costly vessel detentions.

The sudden shift in maritime traffic could redraw the global bunkering map. Peninsula expects significantly increased demand in alternative physical supply ports along the revised route, including Port Said, Malta, Gibraltar, Algeciras, Las Palmas, Algoa Bay, and Port Louis.

Richard Alvarez, Global Head of Sales at Peninsula, added: “Operators are navigating a regulatory and logistical minefield. Securing compliant fuel conveniently, in the right location, in a rising price environment is now the defining challenge of these deviated voyages.

“As supply tightens at alternative bunker hubs, the ability to rely on suppliers with a globally integrated supply network and deep access to multi-product cargos will prove critical to minimise disruption and avoid the costs of non-compliance.”

Photo credit: Peninsula
Published: 27 July, 2026