North America

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal in Houston. Lead times of five days are recommended for both grades in the port. Prompt HSFO availability is tight, with lead times of up to 7-8 days recommended for the grade, a trader said.

Demand has slowed down in Houston this week, a source said.

Bunkering has been suspended in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) since Wednesday due to rough weather conditions. The area was experiencing strong wind gusts of up to 32 knots on Thursday morning, making barge deliveries difficult there. A window of calm weather from Thursday evening could enable bunker operations to resume in GOLA before conditions worsen again from Friday evening.

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal in New York. Lead times of 2-4 days are recommended for both grades. HSFO availability has tightened in New York. Most suppliers are unable to offer HSFO for both prompt dates and dates further out.

Securing both prompt and non-prompt stems for all fuel grades is tight at the New Orleans Outer Anchorage (NOLA). Some suppliers are unable to provide an exact date for when they will have supply available.

Prompt availability is tight in the West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. More than seven days of lead times are generally recommended to secure VLSFO and LSMGO in both locations.

Availability of VLSFO and LSMGO is also tight in Vancouver, further up the West Coast of North America.

Caribbean and Latin America

Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO availability is tight in Jamaica’s Kingston. A supplier is not able to offer stems for delivery dates before the end of December, a source says.

Bunker operations were suspended in Zona Comun on Thursday after being suspended for a day due to bad weather conditions. However, bad weather conditions are forecast intermittently over the weekend and most of next week, which could trigger more suspensions.

Bunker fuel availability has remained normal in the Brazilian ports of Santos, Salvador and Paranaguá. Several suppliers are able to offer VLSFO and LSMGO stems with a lead time of 4-6 days.

In Rio de Janeiro, VLSFO can be secured within 5-7 days of lead time. There is no availability of LSMGO in the port at the moment.

Brazilian fuel supplier Vibra has halted VLSFO offering at Vila do Conde and Belém. The company said it faced several challenges since starting bunkering operations in the region and decided to end the project to focus on other opportunities.

Source: ENGINE