Biofuel Bunker Snapshot: Rotterdam B30-VLSFO edges higher despite POMEME barge price gain

ZRE A certificate price falls during the week

Lisbon’s B30-LSMGO premium over LSMGO widens significantly

BHP and NYK launch B100 trials, and Dutch inland barge shifts to B100

ARA and Europe

Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO (POMEME) price has shown a slight increase of $9/mt over the week.

The port’s conventional VLSFO price has dipped around $5/mt during the same time.

Prima Markets has assessed a $64/mt drop in POMEME barge price, which has failed to put downward pressure on the biofuel bunker blend price.

Bunker suppliers in Dutch ports that deliver low-carbon advanced biofuel blends like the B30-VLSFO (POMEME) blend can generate ZRE A tickets, which can, for example, be sold to conventional fuel suppliers. These ZRE A-rebates help subsidize the Dutch port’s blend price compared to other ports

Prima Markets has assessed that the price of these ZRE A certificates has fallen over the week from €120/mtCO2e ($138/mtCO2e) to €110/mtCO2e ($127/mtCO2e), with the latest price based on an average of multiple price estimates ranging between €100/tCO2e ($116/mtCO2e) and €120/tCO2e ($138/mtCO2e).

Falling ticket prices could indicate an oversupplied biofuel bunker market, where biofuel demand is stronger than demand for the certificates it helps generate.

This could partially explain why the sharp POMEME barge price decrease has not weighed on the biofuel blend price.

Gibraltar’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) has increased around $20/mt, supported by the $23/mt increase in the port’s conventional VLSFO price.

Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO (POMEME) price has increased around $44/mt, partially supported by an increase in the port’s conventional LSMGO gain of $55/mt.

Lisbon’s B30-LSMGO price has gained more sharply by around $76/mt, even as the port’s conventional LSMGO price has dropped around $58/mt. This has widened the B30-LSMGO’s premium over conventional LSMGO by around $134/mt in a single week to $210/mt.

Lisbon’s B30-VLSFO price has increased around $72/mt during the week. The port’s price discount to Gibraltar’s B30-VLSFO blend has narrowed around $52/mt over the week.

Piraeus’s B30-LSMGO price assessment has increased only $17/mt during the period, almost similar to the $16/mt gain in the port’s LSMGO price.

Singapore

Singapore’s B30-VLSFO price has increased around $30/mt in the last week, mostly supported by the $31/mt increase in Singapore’s conventional VLSFO price.

Prima Markets’ price assessment for China UCOME cargo, which is a key feedstock for Singapore’s B30-VLSFO blend, has also gained $15/mt over the same period. This could have provided additional support.

In other biofuel news,

Biofuel company Sunoil Biodiesel said its inland barge will transition from fossil fuels to now operate on B100. The barge Birjo II, will now operate on Sunoil’s own biodiesel while transporting renewable fuels through inland waterways to storage locations.

Japanese shipping firm Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) has launched a year-long trial of continuous B100 (100% biofuel) use on one of its car carriers.

Singapore-based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) tested 100% biofuel (B100) derived from two different feedstocks on a BHP-chartered bulk carrier. The carrier Berge Lyngor was bunkered in Singapore with a B100 biofuel comprising 50% tallow-derived biofuel blended with 50% used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME)-based biofuel.

Swiss cruise operator MSC Cruises used a combined 9,839 mt of mass-balanced liquefied biomethane (LBM) and biofuels across its fleet in 2025, according to its latest sustainability report.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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