Americas Fuel Availability Outlook 22 Oct

Houston Channel closures from late December

Bunker demand picks up in New York

VLSFO and LSMGO supply tight in Zona Comun

IMAGE: Aerial view of the port of Santos. Getty Images

North America

Bunker demand is strong at the US Gulf port of Houston, where all three conventional grades are tight for prompt supply.

Recommended lead times across HSFO, VLSFO and LSMGO run from more than five days to a week, and some suppliers may ask for more than seven days, depending on the size of the enquiry, a trader said.

Vessel traffic through the Houston Ship Channel will face night-time closures from late December, when construction begins on a new bridge at Beltway 8, a ship agency said. Ships will not be allowed to transit beneath the bridge while a closure is in force. The closures are expected to run every other night from 1800 to 0400 hrs local time, and to continue for the next 4-5 months.

At the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA) anchorage, availability for all three fuel grades is tight this week.

Recommended lead times are stretched to 6-8 days, a source said. Rough weather at the anchorage can lead to further delays in deliveries.

Sea fog poses a low threat to visibility at Galveston through Wednesday.

However, at Corpus Christi, fog is expected to turn moderate on next Tuesday with visibility dropping to around 4 nautical miles.

The fog threat is also low across the rest of the US Gulf coast, at Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Freeport, Port Arthur, Lake Charles, Marsh Island, Port Fourchon, New Orleans, Venice, Pascagoula, Mobile Bay and Tampa.

Bunker demand has increased at New York over the week, a source tells ENGINE. Availability for prompt supply of VLSFO and HSFO is tight, with both grades needing more than five days. LSMGO is in better supply, with recommended lead times of 2-3 days.

Northerly winds of 15-20 knots have eased to 10-15 knots late this morning, with waves of 2-4 feet and occasional 5 feet seas. Conditions are expected to settle after that, with winds falling to around 5 knots and backing to the west, and waves of 1 foot or less.

Two tropical systems are active, but neither is expected to threaten bunker operations in the region. Subtropical Storm Josephine is several hundred miles off the US east coast and is accelerating northeastward away from the coast, with maximum sustained winds of 55 knots.

The US National Hurricane Center expects it to turn into a powerful extratropical cyclone, a storm that draws its energy from clashing air masses rather than warm sea water, as it moves further out into the North Atlantic.

In the eastern Pacific, Tropical Storm Vance is well off Mexico’s Pacific coast, moving west with winds of 45 knots. Marine warnings are in effect for parts of the eastern Pacific.

On the US west coast, the bunker market at Los Angeles and Long Beach is steady. Availability is normal at the two ports, with most suppliers able to deliver VLSFO and HSFO in 5-7 days. LSMGO can be delivered in under five days.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Bunker availability has tightened across all three grades at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal in Panama, and fuel demand is reported to be muted. Suppliers need more than a week to deliver VLSFO and LSMGO stems. HSFO is the most tight, with suppliers recommending lead times of 8-10 days.

Panama’s bunker sales fell by around 7% in September from August, with HSFO volumes sliding to their lowest monthly level since July 2023.

In Colombia, HSFO availability is tight at Cartagena and can be arranged only under prior consultation with suppliers, a trader said.

VLSFO and LSMGO are in better supply at Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta, where the earliest delivery dates for both grades fall 3-4 days out, the trader added.

HSFO is also tight at Peru’s Callao and available only under prior consultation. VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal at the port, with recommended lead times of 5-7 days, a trader said.

In Brazil, VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal at Santos, where lead times are 4-7 days this week.

Rio de Janeiro can supply HSFO, but only under prior consultation. VLSFO and LSMGO availability is normal at the port, and both grades require lead times of 4-7 days.

Paranagua, Belem and Vila do Conde have all maintained normal availability of VLSFO and LSMGO, with recommended lead times of 3-7 days across the three ports, a source said.

Further south at Rio Grande, the earliest delivery date for VLSFO is 25 October. LSMGO is not available at the port.

VLSFO and LSMGO remain tight in Argentina’s Zona Comun, where lead times at the anchorage are 8-10 days.

By Gautamee Hazarika   

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