The fall in bunker sales at Spanish ports continued in May, with Barcelona again bearing the brunt.
Spanish ports supplied 457,000t of bunker fuel in May, down by 35pc from the same month a year earlier and by 13pc from April, which itself was lower by 26pc year on year. April was the first month when lockdowns imposed to combat Covid-19 hit European bunker sales.
Algeciras delivered 32pc less bunker fuel in May than in the same month last year. Barcelona's deliveries slumped by 71pc. Deliveries at Ceuta fell by 54pc, and at Tenerife by 45pc.
Las Palmas was an outlier, with bunker deliveries up by 11pc year on year. It became Spain's largest bunker port in the first quarter, mainly because of competitive prices, according to suppliers. In the first half of April, 0.5pc sulphur fuel oil at Las Palmas had been at a weekly average discount to Algeciras, before it moved to a premium in the second half. Las Palmas remained at a slight 75¢/t premium to the mainland port in May.
The overall fall reflects lower levels of arrivals, departures and trade. Just 27 cruise ships visited Spanish ports in May, compared with 478 a year prior — a 94pc fall. Only two called at Barcelona, the country's biggest cruise ship port, compared with 105 in May 2019.
Liquid bulk tonnes handled at Spanish, mainly from oil and chemical tankers, declined by 24pc. The biggest liquid bulk port Algeciras saw a 36pc decline. Algeciras is also Spain's largest container port, and the number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) fell by 15pc year on year. Spain's overall TEU handlings fell by 22pc.
Dry bulk tonnage at Spanish ports fell by 30pc, although Barcelona, the biggest dry-bulk port, saw a 55pc increase.
Gibraltar, which is the Mediterranean's largest bunker port, does not publish monthly sales figures. In May, 450 ships called at the port for bunkering, which was a 7pc drop on the year but up from April when the number was down by 15pc year on year. No cruise ships called at Gibraltar for a second month in a row.
