Getting the bunkering lead time right is more important than ever
The key factors that are worth considering when buying bunker fuel are quality, availability and price. Excluding quality, availability and the relative price paid generally tend to correlate with the lead time, which is the difference between the enquiry/stem date and the start of the delivery window.
Following the IMO2020 transition, longer lead times have become key to securing bunker fuel while paying a competitive price. Shipowners who delay stemming risk non-availability and having to burn a more expensive compliant fuel instead. Book too early and potentially face cancellation costs or delays.
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Zhoushan as a new Far East bunker hub
For decades Singapore has been the gateway to Asia, a major hub offering bunkering as well as other various shipping services. There have been a number of attempts to rival it, particularly when it comes to bunkering, however bunker sales in Singapore remain strong, at around 50 million tons per annum out of the global total of 300 million tons.
Recently, however, certain developments in China and particularly around Zhoushan mean, while unlikely to fully rival Singapore, it may become an attractive bunkering alternative for some.
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We are off recent price lows, but that doesn’t mean we are in a continually rising market
Just over a month ago we put out a note on the collapse in oil prices and the pressures in the market from the significant loss in global oil demand because of ‘lockdowns’ against Covid-19.
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