George Collard and Erik Hoffmann of global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus Media on Thursday (6 August) published an update outlining factors behind the decline in bunker sales in Spain based on the specific demands of each port:
Spanish bunker ports supplied 28% less fuel in June than a year earlier as the Covid-19 pandemic reduced shipping traffic.
Among the country’s main bunkering ports, Barcelona’s sales took the biggest hit. The port supplied 59,000t in June, a 55% year on year drop. Barcelona handled 45% less liquid bulk tonnes, 23% fewer twenty-foot container equivalent units (TEUs), but 9% more dry bulk tonnes. only three cruise ships entered Barcelona in June, down from 76 a year earlier.
Barcelona and other bunkering ports also receive ships only for bunkering or for repairs.
Las Palmas remained the largest Spanish bunkering port in June, with its supply of 187,000t down by only 2% from a year earlier. Sales were supported by 15% growth in liquid bulk volumes. Dry bulk volumes fell by 3%, and container TEUs by 8%. The Canary Islands port is not a big destination for cruise ships, but the number of them entering the port doubled year on year to four.
The other Canary Island port of Tenerife supplied 27,000t, up by 6% from a year earlier. Sales recovered after they dropped by 45% on the year in May. Bunker demand got support from a 47% rise in dry bulk volumes, although liquid bulk was down by 32% and container TEUs down by 6%. A significant increase in the number of cruise ships entering the port, from one to eight, could have added to demand.
Algeciras, which was Spain’s largest bunkering port until last year, supplied 117,000t of fuel — a 35% drop. Sales were pressured by a 6% drop in liquid bulk, 19% less dry bulk and 5% fewer container TEUs. The port does not normally receive cruise ships.
In the first six months of the year Algeciras supplied 24% less fuel, and Las Palmas’ supply nudged up by 2%.
Sales at Cueta fell by 14% year on year in June, pulled down by 41% less liquid bulk, and by 37% less container TEUs. The north African enclave had no dry bulk or cruise ship traffic.
Spanish ports’ June sales were an improvement from May, when the overall fell by 35% year on year.
Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 7 August, 2020
The top three positive movers in the 2020 bunker supplier list are Hong Lam Fuels Pte Ltd (+13); Chevron Singapore Pte Ltd (+12); and SK Energy International (+8), according to MPA list.
‘We will operate in the Singapore bunkering market from the Tokyo, with support from local staff at Sumitomo Corporation Singapore,’ source tells Manifold Times.
Changes include abolishing advance declaration of bunkers as dangerous cargo, reducing pilotage fees on vessels receiving bunkers, and a ‘whitelist’ system for bunker tankers.
Claim relates to deliveries of MGO to the vessels Pacific Diligence, Pacific Valkyrie, Pacific Defiance, Crest Alpha 1, and Pacific Warlock between March 2020 to April 2020.
3,490 mt of LSFO from Itochu Enex was lifted at Universal Terminal; the same bunker stem was bought by Global Marine Logistics and delivered by bunker tanker Juma to receiving vessel Kirana Nawa.
Representatives of Veritas Petroleum Services, Maersk, INTERTANKO, ElbOil Singapore, and SDE International provide insight from their respective fields of expertise on what lies ahead.