Biofuel Bunker Snapshot: Rotterdam bio-bunker prices pressured by lower feedstock costs

POMEME barge price down considerably

Low biofuel premiums boost Rotterdam bio-bunkering

Hong Kong B30-VLSFO price nears Singapore's

ARA

Rotterdam’s B30-VLSFO (POMEME) price has fallen by $14/mt over the past week, while conventional VLSFO prices have remained largely unchanged.

The Dutch port’s B30-LSMGO price has edged lower despite a $45/mt rise in the price of conventional LSMGO over the same period.

Support from firm conventional fuel prices has been offset by a sharp decline in biofuel feedstock prices. Prima Markets-assessed POMEME and UCOME barge prices have each fallen by $92/mt over the past week, to $1,777/mt and $1,707/mt, respectively.

The port’s pure B100 bunker price has dropped by $31/mt.

Under the Dutch RED III law, Dutch bunker suppliers are incentivised to supply low-carbon advanced biofuel in the country’s ports, through the issuance of tradeable ZRE A tickets, which can be monetised by sale to conventional bunker suppliers.

The price of these tickets has remained unchanged over the week at €130/mtCO2e ($151/mtCO2e), according to Prima Markets.

The second quarter of 2026 marked the first time since early 2024 that Rotterdam’s bio-bunker sales were greater than Singapore’s. Peninsula said this highlights the growing influence of European regulations on bunker purchasing decisions.

“Alongside growing demand from shipping companies seeking to meet their FuelEU Maritime obligations, buyers (in Rotterdam during the second quarter) also benefited from relatively low biofuel premiums, attractive RED III compliance ticket values and a market environment in which some biofuel options reached cost parity with conventional fuels once EU ETS costs were included,” Peninsula’s senior commercial analyst Ben Salt said.

“This allowed operators to contribute towards regulatory compliance while maintaining a competitive overall fuel cost,” Salt added.

Mediterranean

Gibraltar's B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has dipped by $5/mt in the past week, amid a $19/mt fall in the port’s conventional VLSFO price.

Fog in the Bay of Gibraltar increased supplier delays and caused congestion in the port on Friday.

Lisbon’s B30-VLSFO price has dropped $18/mt in the past week, and is almost on a par with Gibraltar’s price.

The B30-LSMGO price in Lisbon has remained mostly unchanged during the week, at $1,528/mt, while B100 is priced at $1,788/mt.

Piraeus’ B30-LSMGO is priced at a $152/mt premium over Rotterdam’s B30-LSMGO price and a $61/mt discount to Lisbon’s B30-LSMGO price.

Singapore and Hong Kong

Singapore’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has dropped $27/mt in the past week, to $1,009/mt.

In comparison, the port’s conventional VLSFO price has dropped just $6/mt.

Hong Kong’s B30-VLSFO (UCOME) price has fallen $30/mt in the past week to $1,000/mt and is almost on a par with Singapore’s B30-VLSFO price.

The Prima Markets-assessed China UCOME cargo price has remained unchanged at $1,200/mt. Chinese UCOME is an important source of biofuel for bunkering in Singapore and its price can influence biofuel blend prices in the port.

In other biofuel bunker news, a study by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping said maritime regulatory frameworks, like FuelEU Maritime and EU ETS, need to be harmonised in their emissions accounting methods to ease the adoption of low-emissions drop-in biofuels like cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL) in the shipping sector.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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