Europe & Africa Fuel Availability Outlook 14 Jan

Prompt supply is tight in Gibraltar

Fuel availability improves in Las Palmas

HSFO and VLSFO availability very tight in Port Louis

IMAGE: Ships docked in the Port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain. Getty Images

Northwest Europe

In the ARA bunkering hub, HSFO and LSMGO deliveries are readily available with a short notice of 2-4 days, while VLSFO supplies may require longer lead times of more than a week, a trader told ENGINE.

Buyers are advised to book B30 stems in the ARA at least a week in advance. All grades are available, although some suppliers require higher minimum volumes than others.

The ARA’s independently held fuel oil stocks have fallen by 1% in January to date, according to Insights Global data.

The region has imported 181,000 b/d of fuel oil in January so far, slightly lower than the 188,000 b/d imported in December, according to cargo tracker Vortexa. Brazil (45%), Poland (22%) and France (15%) have been the top suppliers.

The ARA has imported 369,000 b/d of gasoil in January, up from the 244,000 b/d imported in December, according to Vortexa data. Majority of the shipments have arrived from India (63%), while the U.S. (13%) and France (10%) have also contributed some supplies.

Bunker availability remains stable in Germany’s Hamburg, with all fuel grades available easily with a notice of 3-5 days, a trader said.

In Scandinavia, fuel availability is tight in Sweden’s Gothenburg and off Denmark’s Skaw, and buyers are advised to book stems with a lead time of more than 10 days for any fuel grade, another trader said.

Mediterranean

Bunker fuel availability remains tight for prompt supplies in the Gibraltar strait ports, and buyers are being advised to book with lead times of between 5-7 days to get competitive offers from a wider selection of suppliers, a trader said.

B30 blends are available in the Gibraltar Strait but require lead times of around 10 days.

The port of Gibraltar is seeing strong bunker demand this week. Some suppliers are requiring more than two days to deliver supplies, port agent MH Bland said.

In neighbouring Algeciras, some suppliers may be delayed by anywhere between 4-18 hours, MH Bland said.

In Barcelona, suppliers need a notice of around 5-7 days to arrange supplies of any fuel type, a trader said.

All fuel grades are now easily available in Las Palmas with a notice of around 2-4 days, compared to last week, when all fuel grades required between 7-10 days of notice, a trader told ENGINE.

Las Palmas is seeing high swells of around 2 metres. This has restricted all bunkering operations to the berth area and in the inner anchorage, where limited space is causing some delays, port agent MH Bland said.

Weather is expected to worsen in the coming days with winds gusting at more than 25 knots and waves higher than 3 metres forecast intermittently between 18-23 January, which could suspend all bunkering operations.

Weather has improved in the East Mediterranean ports this week.

Suppliers delivering fuel off Malta are seeing stable demand. Buyers are requested to book stems with lead times of around 4-5 days for all fuel grades, a trader said. Rough winds of more than 30 knots and waves of over 3 metres are again forecast in the location between 19-20 January.

Availability of HSFO and LSMGO remains normal in Piraeus, with any deliveries readily available with a notice of 3-4 days, a trader said. VLSFO demand remains low in the Greek port and only supplier is currently delivering the fuel grade and only for large quantities, a source told ENGINE.

Some suppliers in Istanbul were facing delivery backlogs and delays earlier in the week due to the weather-related traffic suspension at the Turkish port. While fuel supplies are now available promptly, snowfall expected over the coming days may impact operations due to low visibility, a local supplier said.

Africa

In Togo’s Lome and off Namibia’s Walvis Bay, HSFO availability is very tight, a trader said.

LSMGO and VLSFO deliveries can be arranged with around 5-7 days of lead time at both locations, the trader added.

One supplier in Nigeria’s Lagos anchorage said they can deliver VLSFO with a shorter notice of 3 days.

In South Africa’s Durban and Richards Bay, both HSFO and VLSFO supplies are readily available with a short notice of 2-4 days.

All inbound traffic in Durban has been suspended due to rough northeasterly wind gusts of more than 30 knots seen at the port, shipping agent Trade Ocean confirmed. Rough winds are forecast to last until Thursday, 15 January.

HSFO and VLSFO supplies are very tight in Mauritius’ Port Louis, while LSMGO supplies remain available with a lead time of around 5-7 days, a trader told ENGINE.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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