What moved the bunker market this week?

Every Friday, our research team breaks down the key developments shaping bunker prices, fuel availability and global shipping. Explore the week’s essential stories, understand the forces driving the market, and see what bunker buyers should be watching next.

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Hapag-Lloyd’s vessel bunkered with bio-methanol in Busan

German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd has bunkered an unspecified quantity of bio-methanol onto its dual-fuel container ship Seaspan Amazon at South Korea’s Port of Busan while the vessel was unloading cargo. The fuel was produced by the Chinese renewable energy firm Goldwind at its facility in Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia. Hapag-Lloyd did not disclose the physical supplier that delivered the fuel in Busan.

The stem forms part of a 2024 long-term supply agreement under which Goldwind will supply Hapag-Lloyd with 250,000 mt/year of blended bio- and e-methanol from the end of 2027.

By securing an early delivery under the agreement, the companies have gained operational experience in fuel handling. Goldwind also has a long-term agreement to supply A.P. Moller- Maersk with 500,000 mt/year
of bio-methanol.

Eidesvik vessel gears up for ammonia bunker trial

Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik’s offshore platform supply vessel Viking Energy is scheduled to bunker 73 mt of ammonia in a trial this autumn following a retrofit by Finnish engine maker Wärtsilä. Bunker supplier Azane Fuel has received approval from the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection to supply the fuel, which will be delivered via a truck-to-ship operation at Stord, Norway. The trial will test the vessel’s fuel transfer equipment, bunker procedures and safety systems. Viking Energy is chartered by Equinor and is expected to remain under charter after the retrofit.

Rotterdam’s Gate Terminal expands LNG storage capacity

The fourth LNG storage tank at Gate Terminal in Rotterdam has been completed and commissioned, adding 180,000 cbm of storage and raising the terminal’s total LNG throughput capacity to 20 billion cbm/year. Gate is jointly owned by gas infrastructure companies Gasunie and Vopak.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority is also building a fourth jetty at the terminal, which is expected to support small-scale ship loading and LNG bunkering by the end of 2028. Gate is assessing a fifth jetty, depending on market demand. The expanded terminal will strengthen Rotterdam’s position as an LNG hub that handles imports from sources including the US, Norway and the Middle East for re-export, pipeline supply, truck distribution
and bunkering.

Panama Canal to auction dry-season vessel transit slots

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will auction slot packages for its Neopanamax and Panamax locks covering crossings from 3 January to 3 April 2027. The Neopanamax auction on 17 November will offer 270 slots in 36 packages, 165 northbound and 105 southbound.

It extends the ACP’s long-term slot allocation programme, which has covered Neopanamax transits since January 2025. The Panamax auction follows on 24 November, offering 288 slots in 51 packages, 147 northbound and 141 southbound. Run as a pilot, it is the first auction to let Panamax customers secure slots this way.

Both programmes offer an average of three slots a day, awarded through sealed bids, with the remaining slots expected to remain available via the canal’s regular booking system and auctions. “Long-term slot allocation could make vessel arrivals at the canal more predictable, allowing shipowners to plan bunker stems more efficiently,” a trader told ENGINE.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen to add up to 12 LNG-capable ships

Norway-based shipping firm Wallenius Wilhelmsen is in advanced talks with shipyards to order four LNG-capable vessels for delivery by 2030, with options for eight more from 2031. If all options are exercised, its LNG-capable orderbook will reach 26 vessels, with deliveries lined up through 2032, it said.

The company has raised $300 million to fund the planned order, according to a filing with the Oslo Stock Exchange.

CMA CGM expands methanol fleet with new delivery

French shipping firm CMA CGM has taken delivery of the CMA CGM Gold, the fifth of 12 planned 13,000-TEU methanol-capable container ships. It will be deployed on the company’s Asia–Central and West Coast of South America route. The 12 vessels form part of a planned 24- vessel methanol dual-fuel fleet, which includes six 15,000- TEU newbuilds and six 9,300-TEU retrofits. CMA CGM aims for 200 LNG- and methanol-capable vessels by 2030.

Alternative fuel vessel orders hit two-year high – DNV

September surpassed August as the strongest month for alternative fuel-capable vessel orders recorded by class society DNV since October 2024, DNV senior consultant Kristian Hammer said. LNG-capable vessels accounted for 48 of the 69 new vessel orders placed during the month. Container ships led LNG-capable vessel orders with 26, followed by car carriers with 18, “reflecting a trend we have seen throughout the year,” Hammer said. DNV has recorded 200 LNG-capable vessel orders so far this year, marking a sharp 52% increase from the same period last year, he added.

Beyond LNG, September saw orders for 12 ethanol-capable bulk carriers and nine LPG capable vessels. No ammonia-capable vessels were ordered during the month, extending the dry spell from August. A total of 311 alternative fuel-capable vessel orders were recorded in the first nine months of this year, up 53% from the same period last year.