In an article published on Alkagesta Market Insights, Darren Lee Axisa, Malta Country Manager of Alkagesta, on Monday (20 July) discussed the key trends influencing Malta’s bunkering market and the factors that will determine Malta’s long-term competitiveness as a regional bunkering hub: 

Malta’s bunkering and energy market is moving through a period of structural adjustment. The disruptions that defined the first half of 2026 have accelerated shifts in product demand, terminal strategy, and the competitive dynamics of one of the Mediterranean’s most strategically positioned bunkering hubs. For Alkagesta, whose storage footprint on the island approaches 300,000 cubic metres, the period has tested operational flexibility while reinforcing the value of diversified infrastructure access.

A Market Shifting in Two Directions

Malta’s broader economy has remained resilient — GDP growth reached 3.9% in Q1 2026 — but the bunkering market has undergone a significant product mix shift, the roots of which predate the current geopolitical disruption.

The Mediterranean Emission Control Area, which came into force on 1 May 2025, triggered an immediate and measurable realignment in fuel demand across the region. VPS data covering the first six months post-ECA implementation shows that across the top ten Mediterranean bunkering ports, VLSFO volumes fell 23%, MGO more than doubled, ULSFO quadrupled, and biofuels increased fivefold. In Valletta specifically, the shift was even more pronounced: VLSFO dropped 57% from 111,641 mt to 47,732 mt, while MGO volumes more than tripled from 33,299 mt to 103,445 mt, and ULSFO rose from 2,821 mt to 34,535 mt over the same period.

This structural rotation has been further accelerated by the broader regulatory environment. FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS requirements are pushing shipowners toward cleaner, verifiable fuel options at every port call — a direction Alkagesta had already positioned itself ahead of, having been among the first movers in the Mediterranean to support the transition to 0.1% sulphur fuel oil following the ECA’s introduction.

Layered on top of this regulatory shift has been a period of reduced terminal capacity affecting bunkering market availability across the island. Fuel oil volumes dropped roughly 35% year-on-year between January and May 2026, falling from approximately 382,000 mt in 2025 to 247,000 mt. DMA demand moved sharply in the opposite direction, rising from around 150,000 mt in January to April 2025 to 247,000 mt over the same period in 2026 — a trend consistent with both the ECA-driven product mix shift and the disruption to heavier fuel availability during the constrained period.

Note: The full article can be read here. 

Photo credit: Alkagesta
Published: 22 July, 2026

Lloyd’s Register Fuel Oil Bunkering Analysis and Advisory Service (FOBAS) on Wednesday (24 June) published a bulletin to provide ship operators with an updated reminder of marine fuel oil sulphur regulations under various regulatory frameworks: 

MARPOL Annex VI

Ships operating inside or outside Emission Control Areas (ECA) for Sulphur Oxides (SOx) i.e., ECA-SOx, are

required to comply with specific sulphur limits in respect of the fuel oils as used unless the particular

combustion systems (engine, boiler, other) in use have in operation an approved exhaust gas cleaning system as per MARPOL Annex VI regulation 4. These fuel oil limits are as follows;

• Inside ECA-SOx: Max sulphur content of 0.10% m/m
• Outside ECA-SOx: Max sulphur content of 0.50% m/m

MARPOL Annex VI regulation 14.3 currently gives the following as ECA-SOx together with the respective geographic limits:

• Baltic Sea;
• North Sea;
• North American (which includes an area around the Hawaiian Islands);
• US Caribbean Sea;
• Mediterranean Sea;
• Canadian Arctic; and
• Norwegian Sea

Additionally, MEPC 84 adopted the North-East Atlantic as an ECA-SOx which will come into effect from 1 September 2028.

European initiatives

For EU, UK, and Turkish ports situated outside ECA-SOx, ships must switchover to a fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.10% m/m when at berth. Similarly, Norway and Iceland have also 0.10% m/m requirements for ships at berth and operating in Fjords (territorial / internal waters).

Other initiatives

Due to increasing concerns around the environmental impact from shipping on local air quality, there are a number of national and local regulations which require the use of low sulphur fuel oils, typically maximum sulphur content 0.10% m/m, or other measures by all or certain ships within defined areas. Examples of these are China, California (CARB), South Korea and Sydney. Furthermore, there can be other related restrictions, for example, on the discharges to sea from exhaust gas cleaning systems.

However, whereas with the MARPOL Annex VI ECA-SOx, there is a single point of reference as to which areas are covered, there is no such central registry for these regional, national or local initiatives taken outside MARPOL Annex VI. Consequently, in all the cases, it is important for ships to check with the relevant authorities beforehand in order to confirm the current status as regards SOx and related emission requirements in order to avoid any penalties – which can be substantial.

Photo credit: Louis Reed from Unsplash
Published: 25 June, 2026

Classification society DNV on Wednesday (17 June) highlighted key information on the new North-East Atlantic ECA, which will enter into force on 1 September 2027 following recent amendments MARPOL Annex VI adopted at MEPC 84, creating a continuous emissions control area across much of the North Atlantic: 

Need to Know

• The new North-East Atlantic ECA will enter into force on 1 September 2027, creating a continuous emissions control area across much of the North Atlantic.
• SOx limits (0.10% sulphur) will apply from 1 September 2028.
• Ships meeting the MARPOL “three‑date” criteria (from 1 January 2027 onward) must comply with Tier III NOx limits for engines above 130 kW when operating in the ECA.

North-East Atlantic ECA

In general, the ECAs are designed to reduce air pollution from NOx, SOx and PM, and play a vital role in protecting sensitive marine environments as well as improving air quality for nearby communities.

The latest addition is the North-East Atlantic ECA, covering the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and territorial seas of Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and mainland UK that are not already included in existing ECAs. The EEZs surrounding Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands will be excluded. The precise ECA boundaries are defined by exact coordinates in Appendix VII of the revised MARPOL Annex VI.

Once in force, this designation will create a continuous ECA across the North-East Atlantic, linking the Canadian Arctic, Norwegian Sea, North Sea and Mediterranean Sea ECAs into a single, connected regulatory area.

Application

The North-East Atlantic ECA, as part of the next amendments to Annex VI of MARPOL, will enter into force on 1 September 2027. The effective dates will be as follows:

SOx requirements

The sulphur limits for new North-East Atlantic ECA take effect 12 months after entry into force, in other words on 1 September 2028. From that date onwards, ships must use fuel with a sulphur content of no more than 0.10%.

Alternatively, compliance may be achieved using exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) when operating on higher-sulphur fuels. However, it should be noted that restrictions on the use of open-loop EGCSs are becoming increasingly stringent, particularly in the coastal waters of northern Europe under OSPAR (please refer to our Technical and Regulatory News No. 26/2025), thereby limiting this as a practical compliance option in the region.

Note: The full article by DNV can be read here. 

Photo credit: william william on Unsplash and DNV
Published: 19 June, 2026