North America
Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO availability is tight with some suppliers in Houston. Two suppliers are unable to accommodate stems with prompt delivery dates of around five says. Four days or more of lead time is advised to get coverage from a number of suppliers.
Some suppliers have offered the two grades with around two days of lead time in the Houston area. Busy barging schedules have prevented other suppliers from committing to very prompt (0-3 days) delivery dates. With rampant volatility in underlying crude futures, price offers can vary greatly between suppliers.
High winds and seas could disrupt bunkering in the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) between 17-19 October.
Long lead times are recommended in Los Angeles and Long Beach. The earliest delivery date for VLSFO and LSMGO with a supplier in Los Angeles is around 11 days out. A supplier in Long Beach still has some space available in its bunker schedule towards the end of the month, but it is filling up.

Caribbean and Latin America
VLSFO and LSMGO can be tight for prompt dates in Balboa and Cristobal. A supplier’s earliest delivery date is around six days out in Cristobal, which is down from eight last week.
Bunker availability is tight off Trinidad, where a supplier’s bunker delivery vessel is still out for dry dock. Another supplier has a tight delivery schedule. The earliest expected delivery dates are now 10-13 days out, depending on when resupply cargo volumes arrive to bolster available supplies.

The grades are also tight in Trinidad’s ports and in nearby St. Eustatius. The earliest expected delivery dates are between 12-14 days out in these ports.
Seven days of lead time is workable for VLSFO and LSMGO deliveries in Jamaica’s Kingston and the Bahamas’ Freeport.
A supplier is out of HSFO and VLSFO in Curacao’s Willemstad and awaits a resupply cargo. 5-6 days of lead time is too prompt for bunker fuel oil deliveries, while LSMGO is readily available.

Prompt VLSFO and LSMGO is generally available among suppliers at Argentina’s Zona Comun anchorage, and but timely deliveries will depend on how weather conditions impact operations.
Zona Comun faces on-and-off hits of strong wind gusts until Tuesday next week, which could hold back bunkering. “There may be delays for short periods towards the end of the week,” Antares Ship Agents says.
Source: ENGINE, By Erik Hoffmann (https://engine.online/)