Americas Fuel Availability Outlook 29 Oct

Strong bunker demand in New York

HSFO supply tightens in Vancouver

LSMGO unavailable in Rio Grande

IMAGE: Aerial view of docks area full of containers at the port in Rio de Janeiro. Getty Images

North America

Bunker demand is strong at the US Gulf port of Houston, where prompt availability of all three conventional grades is tight this week.

Recommended lead times for HSFO and VLSFO run from more than five days to a week. LSMGO can be secured sooner, within 4-7 days, a trader tells ENGINE.

Availability is a little tight at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA), where suppliers are asking for more than five days to cover stems of any of the three grades, a trader said.

Deliveries at the anchorage are made on a first come, first served basis and remain subject to the weather. Winds there are forecast to strengthen to around 14 knots on Friday, gusting to 20 knots, which might disrupt bunker operations.

Sea fog poses a low threat to visibility across most of the US Gulf coast into the weekend, at Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Texas’ Freeport, Galveston, Port Arthur, Lake Charles, Marsh Island, Port Fourchon, New Orleans, Venice, Pascagoula, Mobile Bay and Tampa.

Visibility falls away at a handful of them from next Tuesday, starting with Galveston. Pascagoula is worst hit on Wednesday, with Marsh Island, Mobile Bay and Port Fourchon also affected that day, and Mobile Bay carrying the only high fog threat in the forecast.

Bunker demand in New York has been strong and is expected to remain so through the fourth quarter. VLSFO and LSMGO availability is good this week, with lead times of 2-3 days.

HSFO is tighter and needs at least six days to be delivered, a source said.

Strong wind gusts could disrupt port operations in New York on Friday, when they are forecast to reach 23 knots. These conditions are expected to ease from Saturday.

The US National Hurricane Center was tracking no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, the Caribbean or the US Gulf on Thursday morning, though marine warnings remain in force for parts of the Atlantic.

The only active system is Tropical Storm Vance, off Mexico’s Pacific coast with maximum sustained winds of around 35 knots. It is heading towards the Mexican coast well south of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and no major port is in its line of impact.

On the West Coast, prompt availability of all three conventional grades is tight at Los Angeles and Long Beach, with recommended lead times of 6-8 days.

No disruptions are expected at the two ports, where conditions remain conducive for bunkering, a trader tells ENGINE.

HSFO has tightened at Canada’s Vancouver and is expected to tighten further through the quarter, a source said. Lead times for the grade currently run 7-9 days.

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal at the port, with both grades requiring 4-6 days.

Latin America and the Caribbean

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is tight in Panama's Balboa and Cristobal, with recommended lead times of over seven days.

HSFO is very tight at the ports and has typically been delivered with lead times of 8-10 days, a trader said.

Suppliers at Balboa deliver on a first come, first served basis, subject to the weather, and give priority to vessels holding a confirmed canal transit slot.

High winds from Friday to Sunday could delay deliveries to vessels at anchorage in the Bahamas’ Freeport, with wind gusts reaching 25 knots on Saturday. Earlier this week, high winds suspended anchorage deliveries at the port altogether.

Cruise ships take priority at Freeport, which can push bunker stems further back, a trader said.

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is good at Colombia’s Cartagena, Santa Marta and Barranquilla, where the earliest delivery dates fall 3-4 days out, a trader said.

HSFO is tight at the three ports and can be arranged only after consulting suppliers.

A handful of suppliers carry HSFO at Peru’s Callao, but availability there is tight and stems are also subject to prior consultation.

VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal at Callao, with recommended lead times of 4-7 days depending on the size of the enquiry, a trader said.

In Brazil, VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal at Santos, where recommended lead times are 5-8 days.

Earlier this month, Santos moved from trial supply to regular ethanol bunkering, when the container ship CMA CGM Iron took on the fuel at the port on 19 October, the Santos port authority said.

Rio de Janeiro can supply all three grades, but HSFO is tight and subject to prior consultation. The other two grades are in normal supply, with lead times of 4-7 days.

Paranagua, Belem and Vila do Conde all have good availability of VLSFO and LSMGO, with recommended lead times of under five days, a trader said.

Rio Grande has no availability for LSMGO this week. VLSFO is available but tight for prompt delivery, and the earliest delivery date for the grade is 5 November.

Bunker availability remains tight at Argentina’s Zona Comun anchorage, where VLSFO and LSMGO both require lead times of over a week to 10 days, a source said.

High gusts are forecast at the anchorage from Friday to Sunday, reaching 21 knots on Sunday. Suppliers there stop deliveries when winds exceed 20 knots and work on a first come, first served basis.

By Gautamee Hazarika

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