Marine fuel global weekly market update

A weekly Argus news digest of interest to the conventional and alternative marine fuel markets. To speak to our team about accessing the stories below and access to Argus Marine Fuels, please contact marinefuels@argusmedia.com.

Alternative marine fuels

22 September NYK bets on ammonia for sustainable bunkering Japanese shipping firm Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) expects ammonia to account for about 50pc of its marine fuel demand by 2050.

22 September LNG bunker avails, barging disconnect: Panel Tight US LNG bunker barge availabilities combined with an increase in LNG spot bunkering demand is creating a disconnect between LNG bunker supply and demand, according to panelists at an industry event.

22 September Retailers push for low-carbon marine fuels A retailer coalition is trying to reduce its carbon footprint by negotiating with shipowners transporting their cargoes to replace 280,000 metric tonnes (t) of conventional marine fuels with zero-emission marine fuel starting in 2025.

22 September US shipowners face 'stranded assets' risk The decarbonisation of the shipping industry risks leaving US shipowners with "stranded assets", delegates heard at the Argus Sustainable Marine fuels conference in Houston.

22 September Oberon fuels to supply bunker biomethanol by mid-2025 California-based supplier Oberon Fuels will begin the production and supply of dimethyl ether (DME)-based biomethanol for bunkering out of its upcoming south Texas plant, the company told Argus.

22 September China's biodiesel, UCO exports fall in August Chinese biodiesel exports fell to 161,000t in August, down by 2pc on the month and by 13pc on the year, because of alleged fraud concerns from Europe.

21 September US-Indonesia tech tie-up to boost UCO traceability US renewables traceability platform Veriflux and the Indonesian Used Cooking Oil (UCO) Exporters Association (Aemji) have partnered to connect tracing technology, which could increase Indonesian UCO trade to the US.

21 September Cosco to buy stakes in Mol's three LNG vessels Chinese state-controlled shipowner Cosco has decided to partner with Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines (Mol) in building three LNG vessels tied to term charters with Chinese gas distributor ENN.

20 September Orica eyes 25,000t/yr green ammonia exports Australian chemicals and explosives firm Orica plans to export 25,000 t/yr of green ammonia, as its joint-venture Hunter Valley hydrogen hub in New South Wales approaches a financial investment decision in the first half of next year.

20 September Alternatives may drive methanol market growth The growth of sustainable alternatives to traditional methanol production sources likely will shape the market over the next several years, industry leaders said this week at the Argus Methanol Forum.

20 September Global methanol demand slowing: Argus Global demand for methanol has slowed this year, driven by stagnate economic growth and high interest rates, according to an Argus Consulting outlook.

20 September Royal Caribbean tests biofuel blend on cruise ship US-based cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean said it has successfully tested and used a biofuel blend on its Symphony of the Seas vessel, marking a milestone in the company's efforts to lower its emissions.

20 September USDA pulls China biofuels report over Neste allegations The US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) in Beijing has withdrawn its China Biofuels Annual pending corrections to allegations in the report that Finnish firm Neste's biofuels refinery in Singapore may have received Indonesian palm oil exported from China as used cooking oil (UCO).

20 September Japan's Mol to charter methanol-fuelled bulk carrier Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Line (Mol) is chartering a methanol dual-fuel bulk carrier, which is expected to launch in 2027 to carry mainly biomass and grains.

19 September Binding biomethane target still possible for EU The EU could still agree a binding share for renewable gas, although this will require overcoming resistance from EU member states to further climate and energy obligations, an EU official said.

19 September KPI Ocean Connect supplies B30 to Uni Tankers Marine fuels supplier KPI Ocean Connect has successfully supplied bio-marine fuel to a vessel owned by Uni-Tankers in Amsterdam.

19 September Maersk and CMA-CGM partner for 'greener' fuels Danish container shipping giant Maersk and French marine logistics company CMA-CGM have formed a partnership to drive decarbonisation in shipping, they said.

19 September DNV flags GHG emission calculation concerns The shipping industry faces a significant challenge calculating lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from alternative marine fuels following a change in international maritime regulations, according to vessel classification society DNV.

18 September ARA B100-MGO avg weekly spread flips to discount The spread of marine biodiesel with 100pc advanced fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) in ARA on a dob basis to conventional marine gasoil (MGO) flipped to a $70.28/t discount in the week to 15 September for the first time since January.

18 September S Korea's GS Caltex supplies bio-marine fuel to Hyundai South Korean oil refiner GS Caltex supplied its first cargo of bio-marine fuel to two Hyundai vessels during 15-16 September.

18 September Port of Rotterdam, Duisport plan hydrogen network The Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and the German inland port of Duisburg are planning to jointly develop a network of hydrogen pipelines between their sites, with the first potentially completed by 2027, according to a feasibility study carried out by the ports.

Conventional marine fuels

22 September High bulk orders set to cause fleet oversupply Bulk carrier orders slipped in the week to 17 September, according to data compiled by Argus, but the overall orderbook remained at a high enough level to swamp momentum in 2024.

21 September UAE's Fujairah bans barges serving competing ports The UAE's port of Fujairah, the world's third largest bunkering centre, has banned service boats registered with the port from providing services to vessels at the neighbouring Khor Fakkan and Kalba anchorage areas as of 20 October.

21 September Vietnam's NSRP refinery to restart units in early Oct Vietnam's 200,000 b/d Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP) plans to begin restarting key units at its Nghi Son refinery from 7-9 October, the refiner said.

21 September Higher tonne-miles lift product tanker orders Newbuild orders for product tankers were at a 10-year high of 10.72mn dwt in the first eight months of 2023, according to shipping association Bimco. The current fleet, at 129.44mn dwt, is expected to increase by 10.3pc with 140 vessels on order.

20 September Japan's bonded bunker sales remain slow in July Japan's bonded marine fuel sales fell from a year earlier in July, as refinery issues and turnarounds limited supplies.

20 September CGB acquires St Louis shipyard Consolidated Grain and Barge (CGB) has acquired JB Shipyards in St Louis, Missouri, expanding its operations and capacity.

20 September Turkey raises ship agent fees at ports and straits Turkey has increased the minimum service fees charged by shipping agents at all Turkish ports and at the Turkish straits.

20 September Swedish diesel demand hit seven-month low in July Swedish diesel demand sank to its lowest in seven months, data from government data provider Statistics Sweden show, with diesel demand sinking to the lowest since January when demand is seasonally suppressed.

20 September KPC sells rare HFO, withdraws naphtha on refinery issue Kuwait's state-owned refiner KPC has sold a rare mid-sulphur heavy fuel oil (HFO) cargo and withdrawn a naphtha cargo offer, following a sudden power outage at two of its refineries on 17 September.

19 September US retail diesel price climbs to 10-month high: EIA US retail motor fuel prices rose further in the week ended 18 September, with diesel prices hitting a 10-month high, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

19 September Pertamina to develop new Jakarta terminal Indonesian state-owned refiner Pertamina and state-owned port operator Pelindo have agreed to jointly develop the Jakarta Integrated Green Terminal project in Kalibaru, north Jakarta.

19 September USGC MR rates fall by half on maintenance Medium range (MR) tanker rates in the US Gulf coast have fallen to their lowest levels since early 2023 as sluggish Latin American import demand and US Gulf refinery maintenance have weighed on US Gulf refined product export volumes.

18 September Africa-bound MR rates from ME Gulf rise to 4-month high Clean Medium Range (MR) freight rates from the Mideast Gulf to east Africa and South Africa rose to a four-month high, supported by firm demand and higher bunker costs.

18 September Marine insurance recovering post-Covid: IUMI Marine insurance premiums rose in 2022 as international trade continued to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic, but inflationary pressures and new kinds of risks are increasing uncertainty, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) said today.

18 September Equinor shuts FCC at Mongstad for six-week maintenance Norwegian state-controlled Equinor will close the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its 203,000 b/d Mongstad refinery for maintenance until the end of October, the company told Argus.

18 September US, EU differ on oil price cap enforcement Washington says the G7 price cap on Russia's oil exports is working, even if most sales are above it, while EU officials admit infractions are hard to police.