News
23/04/25
Bio-bunker sales in Rotterdam down in 1Q
London, 23 April (Argus) — Sales of marine biodiesel blends in Rotterdam fell
for the third consecutive quarter in January-March as demand shifted east of
Suez. Port data for the first quarter of 2025 show marine biodiesel blend sales
declined by 12pc compared with the previous three months and by 60pc compared
with the same period last year. The decline was underpinned by lower prices in
Singapore. B24 dob Singapore — a blend comprising very low sulphur fuel oil
(VLSFO) and used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome) — averaged a $36/t discount
against B30 advanced fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) 0 dob ARA in the first
quarter, and a $129.74/t discount against B30 Ucome dob ARA. This price dynamic
made Singapore an attractive bunker hub for those shipowners opting to use
biodiesel blends to help their customers meet sustainability goals. It also
attracted demand from shipowners bound by the FuelEU maritime regulations
introduced in January this year. The regulations require a reduction in
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships travelling into, out of and within EU
waters, but energy consumed from blends bunkered in Singapore can be mass
balanced to be fully accounted for under the scope of the rules. A pooling
mechanism within the regulations also allows vessels operating on the east-west
route to utilise compliance generated from marine biodiesel blends bunkered in
Singapore across other ships that operate solely in Europe. While biodiesel
bunker sales in Rotterdam fell, biomethanol sales at the port soared almost
sixfold in January-March compared with a year earlier. The sharp rise in demand
reflects the rollout of FuelEU Maritime , higher mandates in Europe for the use
of renewables in transport this year and changes to regulations on the carryover
of renewable fuels tickets in Germany and the Netherlands . Sales of
conventional bunker fuels in Rotterdam edged up by a more modest 1pc on the
quarter and by 7pc on the year. Sales of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) overtook
those of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), reversing the trend of the previous
quarter despite the imminent addition of the Mediterranean Sea as an Emission
Control Area (ECA). Ships without scrubbers that sail through ECA zones must use
fuels with a maximum sulphur content of 0.1pc, such as marine gasoil (MGO) and
ultra low sulphur fuiel oil (ULSFO). LNG bunker sales in Rotterdam fell by the
13pc on the quarter in January-March, reflecting a price rally at the Dutch TTF
gas hub in late January and early February. The Argus northwest Europe LNG
bunker price stood at a two-year high of €64.35/MWh on 6 February. LNG bunker
sales were still higher than in the first quarter last year, which likely stems
from the introduction of the FuelEU Maritime regulations. By Hussein Al-Khalisy,
Natália Coelho, Gabriel Tassi Lara, Evelina Lungu and Cerys Edwards. Rotterdam
bunker sales t Fuel 1Q25 4Q24 1Q24 q-o-q % y-o-y % VLSFO 789,218 810,831 680,782
-2.7 15.9 ULSFO 187,031 193,567 176,797 -3.4 5.8 HSFO 829,197 780,437 818,028
6.2 1.4 MGO & MDO 393,071 395,903 383,409 -0.7 2.5 Conventional total 2,198,517
2,180,738 2,059,016 0.8 7 Biofuel blends 104,037 118,201 262,634 -12 -60.4 LNG
(m³) 230,129 263,068 215,247 -12.5 6.9 biomethanol 5,490 930 0 490.3 na Port of
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