Singapore’s November marine fuel sales, also known as bunker sales, fell 3.1% month-on-month as vessel calls dropped, official data showed on Thursday.

Bunker sales in November totalled 4.26 million metric tons, down 2.5% year-on-year, based on latest data from Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority.

The drop came in line with lower vessel calls for bunkering, which totalled 3,404 last month, down 3.9% from October.

Container throughput climbed to 3,353,300 20-foot equivalent units in November, hitting a four-month high.

CONVENTIONAL FUELS
Low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) sales for bunkering totalled 2.34 million tons in November, down 7.0% from prior month.
Expensive premiums for 0.5% low-sulphur bunkers could have dampened spot purchases, industry sources said.

Bunker premiums have firmed sharply into end-November, breaching nearly $50 a ton over Singapore cargo price quotes, they said.

Meanwhile, scrubber-fitted ships opted for more high-sulphur bunkers as prices were much cheaper compared with the low-sulphur grade.

High-sulphur marine fuel oil (MFO) sales totalled 1.54 million tons in November, up 6.3% from October.

ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Sales of bio-blended LSFO fell to 57,300 tons in November, after hitting a record high of 76,800 tons in October.

However, total 2023 to-date volumes for bio-blended LSFO were at 458,6000 tons, more than tripling from 2022 levels.

A parcel of bio-blended low-sulphur marine gasoil was also recorded for the first time ever, the data showed.

Meanwhile, bunker sales of liquefied natural gas were at 7,200 tons in November, bringing total year-to-date LNG bunker sales to 101,600 tons.

Bunker sales at Singapore are a key indicator of sentiment at the world’s largest ship refuelling hub, which is also one of the busiest shipping lanes globally.

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh and edited by Sherry Jacob-Phillips