As Reuters recently reported, PetroChina’s Singapore bunkering unit considered to be the top marine fuel supplier in the world’s biggest ship refuelling hub, during 2019. Although, official data showed that the total amount of suppliers marked a decrease for a sixth year-in-a-row.
Following PetroChina, was the Singapore-based Sentek Marine & Trading, while Singapore’s Ocean Bunkering Services came third on the list.
According to the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore, market conditions are passing through some difficult times, as authorities have cut the amount of licensed bunker suppliers to 45 from 51 the previous year.
The biggest increase in the MPA’s ranking, was marked by the Plamstone Tankers & Trading reaching the 13th place from the 34th place, while Glencore Singapore was 7th in the list, jumping up 14 places in comparison to the last year.
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On the other hand, the biggest drop came from Hong Lam Marine, falling to 37th place from the 17th in 2018.
Moreover, Brightoil Petroleum fell 16 places to 44th, while Exxonmobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd fell 15 spots to 22nd.
Overall, Singapore’s bunkering sales volumes during 2019, marked a 5% fall for a second year. For the records, the city holds about 20% of the global bunkering sales.
However, several suppliers saw an improvement in profit margins in late 2019, after IMO setting the new global rules, which force shippers to turn to new and cleaner fuels.
Concluding, traders claimed that the decline in bunker suppliers number, has had a limited impact on the industry, as the top 20 suppliers account for the vast majority of delivered volumes.
