Low sulphur fuels are readily available in key bunker ports around Europe and Africa, while prompt availability of high sulphur fuel oil is tight in the Canary Islands and South Africa.

There are no supply issues in ARA ports, other Norther European ports or in Gibraltar Strait ports, where stems of VLSFO and LSMGO are readily available with most suppliers, sources say. Supply of low sulphur fuels remains steady in these ports, in contrast to bunker hubs further east, like Singapore and Fujairah, where lead times for these grades fluctuate a lot more.

ARA’s independent fuel oil stocks grew by 1% to 10.81 million bbls last week, after a massive 13% drop in the previous week. Despite the recent draw, ARA’s stock levels remain above their five-year-average position. The hub’s gasoil stocks are at five-year-lows of 16.30 million bbls, even after adding 4% last week.

HSFO380 can also be procured with considerably shorter lead times of 3-5 days in ARA and the Gibraltar Strait than in Singapore and Fujairah, where 7-10 days are recommended. The fuel grade has been in tighter supply in the Canary Islands in the past few months, after a supplier stopped replenishing its stocks. No date for replenishment has been set, and with only two suppliers offering the grade, lead times of six days are longer than in the Gibraltar Strait.

Several bunker suppliers are delayed in Las Palmas, as high swell has suspended outer anchorage bunkering and put pressure on limited bunkering space in the port’s inner anchorage. High swell is forecast until Friday morning, and then come down over the weekend. There are no delays in Tenerife, where swell is lower and outer anchorage bunkering is going ahead as normal.

Bunker fuels are also in steady supply in ports further east in the Mediterranean, including Malta, Piraeus and Istanbul.

All fuel grades are available for bunker deliveries in South Africa and Mauritius. VLSFO and LSMGO can be delivered on prompt dates in South African ports, while HSFO180 can be tight for prompt dates, especially in Port Elizabeth.
Source: ENGINE (https://engine.online/)