East of Suez Fuel Availability Outlook 28 July

VLSFO availability tight in Zhoushan

Availability tight across all grades in Fujairah

Bunker demand picks up in Jeddah

IMAGE: Cargo ships docked at Tauranga Harbour Port with Mount Maunganui in the background. Getty Images


Singapore and Malaysia

VLSFO availability in Singapore has tightened further, with suppliers now recommending lead times of 16-20 days, compared with 14-19 days last week. Supply remains under pressure as the port's fuel oil inventories have yet to recover to pre-conflict levels, while cargo inflows continue to be affected by renewed US-Iran hostilities that have disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

HSFO supply has also tightened, with recommended lead times extending to 12-15 days from 9-13 days a week earlier. Meanwhile, LSMGO availability has improved, with lead times easing to 5-8 days from 9-11 days last week.

Fuel oil inventories fell below 18 million bbls in June, down from more than 23 million bbls in March. Stocks have also remained below the 20 million-bbl mark so far this month, latest data from Enterprise Singapore shows.

In Malaysia's Port Klang, bunker fuel supply remains constrained. Prompt VLSFO availability is tight, LSMGO supply is limited, and HSFO continues to face supply pressure.

East Asia

VLSFO availability in Zhoushan remains tight despite muted demand, with suppliers recommending lead times of about nine days, down from roughly 12 days previously. A local source attributed the extended lead times to reduced refinery output.

Recommended lead times for both LSMGO and HSFO have remained largely unchanged at around seven days.

Bunker fuel availability across northern China continues to vary by port. Suppliers in Dalian and Qingdao have sufficient VLSFO and LSMGO stocks, although HSFO remains tight in Qingdao. In Tianjin, availability of all three major bunker grades is constrained, while Shanghai continues to face tight VLSFO and HSFO supply. LSMGO availability in Shanghai remains comparatively stable.

Supply conditions also remain tight across several southern Chinese ports. VLSFO and LSMGO are both under pressure in Fuzhou. Xiamen has adequate VLSFO availability, but prompt LSMGO supply is more limited. In Yangpu and Guangzhou, both grades continue to face supply constraints.

Hong Kong's bunker market remains stable, with suppliers continuing to recommend lead times of around seven days for all major fuel grades, largely unchanged from recent weeks.

In Taiwan, VLSFO and LSMGO deliveries can be arranged within about two days in Hualien and Taichung, while Kaohsiung requires lead times of around three days. In Keelung, however, lead times for both grades have extended to 4-5 days from about three days previously due to ongoing barge constraints.

Bunker fuel availability has improved across South Korea's southern ports, including Busan, Ulsan, Masan, Onsan, Yeosu and Kwangyang. Recommended lead times for VLSFO, LSMGO and HSFO have all shortened to 6-8 days, compared with 9-16 days last week, reflecting an easing in supply conditions.

A similar trend is evident across South Korea's western ports—including Incheon, Daesan, Dangjin, Pyeongtaek and Taean—where lead times for all three fuel grades have also narrowed to 6-8 days, from 9-16 days a week earlier.

Meanwhile, supply remains tight at Japan's major ports, including Tokyo, Chiba, Kawasaki, Kashima, Nagoya, Yokkaichi, Osaka, Kobe, Mizushima and Oita. VLSFO and LSMGO continue to be available through only a limited number of suppliers, while HSFO is comparatively easier to source, with recommended lead times of around 7-10 days.

In contrast, Indonesia continues to enjoy healthy bunker fuel availability. Suppliers in Jakarta, Surabaya, Balikpapan and Cigading are generally recommending lead times of just 2-3 days for VLSFO, indicating ample supply.

Oceania

VLSFO availability remains steady across Western Australia, with suppliers in Kwinana and Fremantle continuing to recommend lead times of about seven days. Both ports rely on a single supplier, with all bunker deliveries conducted by barge.

Supply conditions are more varied along Australia's east coast. In Port Kembla, VLSFO can be delivered by truck or pipeline, while suppliers in Sydney have sufficient stocks of both VLSFO and LSMGO. HSFO availability is comparatively tighter in Sydney, where suppliers generally advise booking around seven days in advance.

In Queensland, VLSFO and LSMGO remain readily available in Brisbane and Gladstone, with lead times holding at approximately seven days.

Further south, Melbourne and Geelong continue to have healthy VLSFO inventories. However, both ports depend on a single bunker barge for deliveries, keeping recommended lead times at around one week. HSFO availability has tightened further in both Melbourne and Brisbane.

Separately, one supplier is offering all major bunker grades in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne with lead times of roughly five days. In Western Australia, pipeline-based bunker deliveries to Dampier Cargo Wharf (DCW) have been suspended until around the end of September due to repair works. Limited truck deliveries remain available, depending on vessel size. During the outage, a supplier has designated the Toll Supply Base (TSB) in Dampier as the preferred alternative for bunker operations, a source said.

Across the Tasman, bunker fuel availability in New Zealand remains largely unchanged. VLSFO supply is readily available in Tauranga and Auckland, where suppliers continue to recommend lead times of around four days. At Marsden Point, both VLSFO and LSMGO can be supplied directly to vessels via pipeline.

Weather remains the primary operational challenge in New Zealand. Bunker deliveries are especially vulnerable to disruption in Wellington and ports across the South Island, where adverse weather conditions can periodically delay supply operations.

South Asia

Some suppliers in Mumbai continue to recommend lead times of 4–5 days for both VLSFO and LSMGO, although deliveries remain subject to weather conditions. In contrast, VLSFO availability is extremely tight at Haldia, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam, a source said.

Monsoon conditions are expected to disrupt bunker operations at several Indian ports over the coming days, with weather-related delays likely to affect bunker deliveries. Operations at Kandla and Sikka are forecast to face disruptions between 28 July and 1 August, while rough seas could hinder bunkering in Mumbai, Cochin and Visakhapatnam over the same period.

In Sri Lanka, adverse weather is also expected to intermittently disrupt bunker operations in Colombo and Trincomalee between 28 July and 1 August, with potential delays to bunker deliveries.

Middle East

Renewed hostilities between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz have tightened bunker fuel availability in Fujairah. Supplies of VLSFO and LSMGO have become more constrained compared to last week, when prompt deliveries were still possible. Only a handful of suppliers are currently able to offer LSMGO, while HSFO remains scarce and is largely available only on a firm enquiry basis.

Conditions are more favourable at the neighbouring UAE bunker hub of Khor Fakkan, where VLSFO and HSFO availability remains good. However, bunker demand has eased in both Fujairah and Khor Fakkan amid the renewed regional conflict, according to a Middle East-based source.

In Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, VLSFO and LSMGO availability continues to hold steady, despite an uptick in demand.

Supply constraints persist in Qatar's Ras Laffan, where both VLSFO and LSMGO remain in limited supply.

At Egypt's Port Suez, inventories of all three conventional bunker grades remain critically tight.

Further south, availability of all major bunker fuel grades also continues to be limited in Djibouti.

By Tuhin Roy

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