Best LNG quarter ever

VLSFO demand remains low

ULSFO sales at highest since 2020

Changes in Rotterdam’s conventional fuel sales from the second to the third quarter of 2025:

• HSFO sales down by 43,000 mt to 872,000 mt
• VLSFO sales down by 44,000 mt to 636,000 mt
• MGO sales down by 21,000 mt to 387,000 mt
• ULSFO sales up by 7,000 mt to 233,000 mt
• LNG sales up 31,000 mt to 122,000 mt
• Grey methanol sales unchanged at nil

Rotterdam logged its strongest-ever quarter for LNG bunker sales, with suppliers delivering 122,000 mt between July and September, the Port of Rotterdam’s data on conventional fuel sales shows.

That was a 35% rise from the second quarter, and a 23% rise from the same quarter last year. The port’s LNG bunker sales in the first three quarters of 2025 have increased by about 9% compared to the same period last year.

Despite the increase in sales, LNG still made up only around 5% of total bunker volumes sold during the third quarter.

A total of 2.25 million mt of conventional fuels were sold during the third quarter. That was a 3% decrease from the previous quarter.

HSFO remains the most-selling fuel type in the port despite a 5% decline in sales. Around 872,000 mt of HSFO was sold during the quarter and this made up about 36% of all fuel sales.

VLSFO sales fell by 6%, its fourth consecutive quarterly decline. The fuel type’s sales have declined by 24% since third quarter of 2024. Its share of total fuel sales has declined from 33% in third quarter of 2024, to 26% in the third quarter of 2025.

MGO sales declined by 5% during the quarter, but were up by 16% from the same quarter last year.

Apart from LNG, the only other conventional fuel type to gain on the quarter was ULSFO. ULSFO sales edged up by 3% to 233,000 mt, which was its best quarterly sales since the first quarter of 2020.

Demand for ULSFO and LSMGO has increased significantly with the implementation of the Mediterranean Emission Control Area (MedECA) from May this year. These both 0.10% sulphur fuels have become the most popular grades in major Mediterranean ports, and this could also have boosted demand from ships bunkering in Rotterdam before sailing to the Mediterranean.

Fossil methanol sales have not featured in Rotterdam’s data since 2022.

By Nachiket Tekawade

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