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Carriers head for Russian ports east and west for big discounts on bunker fuel
WITH soaring bunker costs and increasing fuel oil price differences in recent years, Russian ports have become popular with shipping lines looking for cheaper fuel.
Prices for IFO 380 this week at St Petersburg was US$390 per tonne, compared to $541 per tonne at Rotterdam. For a vessel with a bunker capacity of 6,000 tonnes, the savings come to $900,000 per fill-up - minus detour costs.
Many ships call at Russian ports just to fill up. In the Russian Far East, Vladivostok and Vostochny have been added to the westbound return legs of Asia to US West Coast services.
Often they come to pick up a few containers - sometimes a customs requirement. In addition, a number of intra-Asia services have been extended to Russia for this purpose, and newbuildings from South Korea make the short trip north for their first fill up.
The trend has spread to the Russian ports in the Baltic Sea. This month, a number of ships could be observed making trips to the St Petersburg, before taking the long voyage to the Far East.
It remains to be seen if a price advantage could lead intra-Europe carriers to use Russian bunkering when the emission control rules mandate costly low-sulphur fuel in northern Europe from January 1.
Prices for IFO 380 this week at St Petersburg was US$390 per tonne, compared to $541 per tonne at Rotterdam. For a vessel with a bunker capacity of 6,000 tonnes, the savings come to $900,000 per fill-up - minus detour costs.
Many ships call at Russian ports just to fill up. In the Russian Far East, Vladivostok and Vostochny have been added to the westbound return legs of Asia to US West Coast services.
Often they come to pick up a few containers - sometimes a customs requirement. In addition, a number of intra-Asia services have been extended to Russia for this purpose, and newbuildings from South Korea make the short trip north for their first fill up.
The trend has spread to the Russian ports in the Baltic Sea. This month, a number of ships could be observed making trips to the St Petersburg, before taking the long voyage to the Far East.
It remains to be seen if a price advantage could lead intra-Europe carriers to use Russian bunkering when the emission control rules mandate costly low-sulphur fuel in northern Europe from January 1.
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