Rotterdam's conventional bunker sales slump on the year

Conventional share of total sales declines

Fuel oil and gasoil sales drop sharply

LNG emerges as a bright spot

Changes between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026:

• HSFO sales down by 210,000 mt to 705,000 mt
• VLSFO sales down by 325,000 mt to 354,000 mt
• MGO sales down by 77,000 mt to 331,000 mt
• ULSFO sales down by 103,000 mt to 123,000 mt
• LNG sales up by 29,000 mt to 123,000 mt
• Grey methanol sales unchanged at nil

Bunker suppliers in Rotterdam sold 1.6 million mt of conventional marine fuels in the second quarter of 2026, down 30% from the same period last year.

This marked the second consecutive quarter in which conventional bunker sales fell to their lowest level since the port’s records began in 2010.

Sales declined 28% year-on-year across the first half of 2026, compared to the first half of last year.

The share of conventional fuel sales as a percentage of total bunker sales slipped to 87% in the second quarter, from 93% in the same quarter last year. This was also due to a surge in biofuel bunker sales.

Conventional sales sharply down

HSFO remained Rotterdam’s best-selling conventional fuel grade, accounting for around 43% of conventional bunker sales and 37% of total sales.

HSFO sales declined by 23% year-on-year to 705,000 mt in the second quarter. However, they increased by 14% from the previous quarter.

VLSFO sales plunged 48% year-on-year to 354,000 mt and accounted for around 22% of conventional bunker sales.

ULSFO sales dropped 45% to 123,000 mt, making up 8% of conventional fuel sales.

MGO sales declined by 19% to 331,000 mt. The grade accounted for 20% of conventional fuel sales and 18% of Rotterdam’s total bunker sales.

LNG more in demand

Meanwhile, LNG bunker sales increased 31% year-on-year to 123,000 mt in the second quarter, and were up 18% from the previous quarter.

Across the first half of the year, LNG sales increased 8% compared to last year's first half.

LNG accounted for 7% of Rotterdam’s total bunker sales in the second quarter, its highest share since LNG sales data became available in 2019.

Its share of total conventional fuel sales has doubled from 4% to 8%.

Meanwhile, LNG bunker sales in neighbouring Antwerp fell 13% year-on-year in the second quarter.

RED III and other factors

The Rotterdam Port Authority said the implementation of RED III in Netherlands has been a major factor behind decreasing bunker volumes.

The new regulation requires conventional bunker fuel suppliers to obtain and surrender compliance credits proportional to the emissions from their fuel sales. This has increased the cost of bunkering in Rotterdam and other Dutch ports.

The port authority said bunker volumes have shifted to outside the ARA region because of operational changes to regulations and policy.

Price fluctuations, uncertainty in energy markets and redrawn trade routes have all influenced decisions on bunker locations and purchasing volumes, the port authority said.

Comparatively, in neighbouring Antwerp-Bruges, conventional bunker fuel sales increased by 78,000 mt year-over-year in the second quarter to 2 million mt, Antwerp-Bruges' bunker sales data showed last week.

In Singapore, total bunker sales in the first six months of the year were 6% higher than during the same period last year.

By Nachiket Tekawade 

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