Singapore’s February marine bunker fuel sales fell 8.1% from January, data showed on Thursday, weighed by a seasonal demand lull and as some ships took longer to return to refuel amid Red Sea rerouting, trade sources said.

Sales at the world’s largest bunker hub totalled 4.51 million metric tons in February, latest data from Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority showed. The sales posted a 18.8% increase from the same month last year despite a monthly decline.

The decline was in line with a drop in vessel calls for bunkering, which slipped to a year’s low of 3,359 calls, while monthly container throughput was also at its lowest since last February, hitting 3.17 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

While shipping disruptions in the Red Sea have spurred more ships to refuel in the city-state at the start of this year, uptake cooled in February as some ships took more days to return to refuel due to longer voyages, some trade sources said.

Price premiums of low-sulphur bunker fuel delivered at Singapore have also contracted sharply, sliding to premiums below $20 a ton by end-February after reaching above $40 a ton in January, based on pricing data from sources.

Bunker demand at Singapore is also typically lower during the Lunar New Year season, sources added.

CONVENTIONAL FUELS
Low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) sales for bunkering totalled 2.55 million tons in February, down 10.7% from January but up 10.1% from the same month last year.

The sales could face further pressure this month as China’s Zhoushan prices have become more competitive versus Singapore in March so far, said Ivan Mathews, head of consultancy FGE’s Asia Refining and Global Fuel Oil Service.

High-sulphur marine fuel oil (MFO) sales totalled 1.60 million tons, the MPA data showed, down 3.5% from January but up 40.1% from February last year, still supported by strong demand from scrubber-fitted ships.

Total marine gasoil sales dipped 5.8% from January to 311,300 tons in February.

ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Marine biofuel sales totalled 15,600 tons in February, down for a second straight month and hitting its lowest volume since August 2022, as trials by shippers slowed in the month.

Meanwhile, bunker sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) totalled 26,900 tons in February, up for a third consecutive month and reaching a record monthly high.

The monthly LNG bunker sales exceeded biofuel sales for the first time ever since Singapore’s MPA started publishing sales figures for alternative bunker fuels.

Source: Reuters reported by Jeslyn Lerh and edited by Rashmi Aich