Singapore steers ahead in biofuel bunkering

In Singapore, Ship & Bunker reports, the Port of Singapore has overtaken Rotterdam as the world’s largest biofuel bunker port in the third quarter of this year, driven by a 67.5% rise in sales to 227,000 metric tons, surpassing Rotterdam’s 137,175 metric tons.

Ronald Backers, the Port of Rotterdam’s head of liquid bulk business intelligence, attributed this partly to the strong sales of bioblended bunkers in Singapore. The Dutch government’s cut in marine biofuel subsidies further dampened Rotterdam’s performance.

Long established as the global leader in conventional bunkering, with fuel sales five times Rotterdam’s, Singapore had lagged in the transition to alternative fuels. However, recent developments signal a shift in this maritime competition. Earlier this month at  SIBCON, Vitol projected Singapore’s biofuel sales to double annually in the near term.

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