Rotterdam’s bio-bunker sales drop 38% from last quarter

Bio-VLSFO sales more than halves

LBM volumes more than triples

Bio-methanol sales climb further

Changes between the second quarter and the third quarter of 2026:

• Bio-VLSFO sales down by 81,000 mt to 63,000 mt
• Bio-HSFO sales down by 17,000 mt to 13,000 mt
• Total bio-MGO sales down by 2,000 mt to 41,000 mt
• Bio-ULSFO sales broadly unchanged at 22,000 mt
• Bio-methanol sales up by 1,300 mt to 4,200 mt
• LBM sales up by 7,200 mt to 11,000 mt
• No bio-ethanol sales recorded in Q3

Bunker suppliers in Rotterdam sold 154,000 mt of bio-bunker fuel in the third quarter of 2026, down 38% from the second quarter, according to data from Port of Rotterdam. This was the steepest quarterly fall since the third quarter of 2024. The port authority said bio-blended volumes were lower after a very high second quarter.

Bio-bunker fuels accounted for 8% of Rotterdam’s total bunker sales in the third quarter, down from 13% in the second quarter.

Rotterdam’s bio-bunker sales rose 7% year-on-year to 514,000 mt in the first nine months of 2026, from 482,000 mt in the same period last year.

Bio-VLSFO leads decline

Bio-VLSFO remained the most popular biofuel blend, but its sales fell 56% from the previous quarter to 63,000 mt. Its share of total biofuel sales dropped to 41%, from 59% in the second quarter.

Bio-HSFO sales fell 58% from the previous quarter to 13,000 mt, and its share of total biofuel sales dropped to 8%, from 12%.

Bio-ULSFO sales were broadly unchanged at 22,000 mt, accounting for 14% of total biofuel volumes. That share has increased from 9% in the second quarter.

B100 likely props up bio-MGO

Bio-MGO sales held up far better than the wider biofuel market. The sales slipped just 4% from the previous quarter to 41,000 mt, while total biofuel sales fell 38%.

Year-on-year, bio-MGO sales rose 67% from 25,000 mt in the third quarter of 2025, while total biofuel sales fell 23%. Across the first nine months of 2026, bio-MGO sales climbed 36% to 104,000 mt, well ahead of the 7% rise in total biofuel sales.

Bio-MGO’s share of total biofuel sales rose to 27% in the third quarter, from 17% in the second quarter and 12% a year earlier.

The port authority said it does not report B100 separately, and that the fuel is most probably included in bio-MGO.

ENGINE data showed last month that the number of B100 samples recorded in Rotterdam more than doubled in the first eight months of 2026 from a year earlier, lifting B100’s share of the port’s biofuel samples to 23%, from 12%.

Growing B100 demand may help explain why bio-MGO sales held steady while other biofuel blends fell sharply.

LBM bunkering picks up in 2026

Liquefied biomethane (LBM) bunker sales more than tripled from the previous quarter to 11,000 mt in the third quarter, their highest since the port began reporting biofuel volumes in 2021. This, compared with just 400 mt a year earlier.

Across the first nine months, LBM sales rose to 21,000 mt, from 2,600 mt in the same period last year.

LBM made up around 6% of all LNG and LBM sales put together in the first nine months of the year, compared to less than 1% in the same period last year.

Bio-methanol continues to grow

Bio-methanol sales rose for a third straight quarter, climbing 46% from the previous quarter to 4,200 mt.

This was the highest quarterly volume since the first quarter of 2025, and up 76% from 2,400 mt a year earlier.

Nine-month sales were down 32% year-on-year at 8,000 mt, as volumes were higher in the first half of 2025.

No bio-ethanol bunkering was recorded in the third quarter, after 1,000 mt was supplied in the second quarter.

By Nachiket Tekawade

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online