HSFO tight in Houston

Bunkering suspended in GOLA

Zona Comun records weak demand

IMAGE: Port operations ongoing in Rio De Janeiro. Getty Images

North America

Bunker demand in Houston has been stable, though HSFO remains in short supply, with lead times reported at 7-8 days.

"HSFO is quite limited at the moment. Some suppliers have no availability for the grade and are declining to offer," a bunker trader told ENGINE.

Two suppliers confirmed they have run out of HSFO and are currently offering only VLSFO and LSMGO. Both these grades have typically been offered with 5–6 days of lead time over the past week.

A gale warning remains in effect through Thursday evening in the Houston area, with frequent gusts of 35–40 knots expected across portions of the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay, and occasional gusts reaching up to 45 knots.

Bunkering operations at the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) have been suspended since 28 October and are expected to resume at 12.00 local time on Thursday.

"It looks like conditions will stay smooth until late on the 1 November,” a key supplier at the lightering area said, "but we could be facing another shutdown lasting through sunrise on the 3 November. This might build congestion."

Availability remains good at GOLA, where suppliers can offer HSFO and LSMGO with lead times of 3–4 days. VLSFO can be delivered with a lead time of around 5–6 days.

Marine warnings that were in effect along the US Gulf Coast were lifted by the National Hurricane Center on Thursday.

The Center has issued advisories for Hurricane Melissa over the Atlantic and marine warnings across the Atlantic, southwest North Atlantic and eastern Pacific regions.

In New York, bunker demand has remained steady for both HSFO and LSMGO this week, according to sources. Recommended lead times for HSFO and VLSFO are between 5-7 days. LSMGO, meanwhile, can be supplied within 2-3 days.

Weather conditions are rough in New York, with easterly winds blowing between 25–30 knots and waves rising to 5–6 feet. Showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms may further reduce visibility to 1–3 nautical miles.

A gale warning is also been in effect in New York from 06.00 on Thursday morning through to Friday morning, followed by a gale watch extending into late Friday night, a ship agent said.

In Los Angeles, bunker operations are proceeding as usual, with all three conventional fuel grades in normal availability and lead times of 5–7 days advised.

The number of container ships scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles next week has dropped to 15, compared to 19 vessels scheduled this week, according to the port’s official vessel tracker Signal.

Earlier this month, the Port of Los Angeles' executive director Gene Seroka highlighted how shifting trade policies have added greater unpredictability to global trade.

"When sweeping changes were first announced, importers abruptly stopped their orders from China. When those policies were softened and deadlines extended, cargo volumes picked up again. The supply chain has been on a roller coaster all year - and that ride continues," Seroka said.

Meanwhile, US crude inventories fell by 6.86 million bbl to 416 million bbl for the week ending 24 October, according to EIA data released on Wednesday.

The drop comes as US crude imports hit a four-year low, falling by 867,000 b/d to 5.05 million b/d, the lowest level since February 2021.

In Canada’s Vancouver, HSFO is in good availability and can be supplied by 7-8 November. The grade is currently in high demand and considered a "popular inquiry" this week, a bunker supplier said.

VLSFO and LSMGO grades are also available in the port and require lead times of 4-8 days, depending on the size of the order.

Latin America and the Caribbean

In Panama, bunker demand continues to be weak, with September recording the lowest sales in the past 19 months.

On the supply side, Balboa and Cristobal have steady availability, with VLSFO and LSMGO requiring 5–7 days of lead time, while suppliers recommend 7–8 days for HSFO deliveries.

In Colombia, VLSFO and LSMGO are widely available across Cartagena, Santa Marta and Barranquilla, with the earliest delivery dates said to be 3–4 days out.

While HSFO is not regularly available in Colombian ports, a bunker trader told ENGINE it can sometimes be sourced in larger ports like Cartagena, depending on availability.

In Brazil, the port of Santos remains congested. VLSFO is available but tight, and LSMGO has normal availability. Recommended lead times for both grades are around 6–7 days this week.

For VLSFO, there is special discounted pricing applied on quantities exceeding 1,500 mt in Santos.

In Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Belém and Vila do Conde, availability of both VLSFO and LSMGO is okay, and the grades can be delivered with 3-4 days of lead time.

At OPL Sepetiba, both grades are available with the earliest delivery dates around 7-9 November. In Salvador, they can be supplied between 1-3 November.

Paranaguá reports normal VLSFO availability, with recommended lead times of under a week. LSMGO is not available at present at the port.

Itaqui has improved availability this week, with the earliest delivery date around 31 October for both VLSFO and LSMGO.

The Argentinian bunker market has also seen a dip in demand, according to local sources.

A local ship agent told ENGINE that "Suppliers are complaining that activity has dropped due to weak demand. Port operations remain normal and there may be a few interruptions, but they’re mostly short-lived."

At the Zona Comun anchorage, VLSFO and LSMGO are available via barges, with lead times of 5–7 days. There are five barges currently in operation.

Beyond conventional fuels, biofuel offtake has been sluggish. Vessels that call at the anchorage are unwilling to pay hefty premiums for biofuels without any regulatory incentives.

The ship agent noted, "There is no biofuel at all. There’s only one biofuel supplier (in theory), and he told me last month that he hasn’t made a single sale. There’s simply no incentive for buyers in Argentina to pay more."

By Gautamee Hazarika

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