In the past year, subject to the sluggish global demand for bunker fuel oil and strict quarantine measures, the sales volume of bunker fuel oil in Hong Kong has fallen sharply, while another major port for bunker fuel oil’s bunkering- Zhoushan has bucked the trend and the oil supply has increased by 15%, which is really ‘a tale of two worlds’ in bunker fuel oil’s bunkering market.

　　Due to the confirmed cases of several incoming ships and the secondary outbreak of the epidemic in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government tightened the crew change restrictions from July 29, 2020. At the same time, the Hong Kong government stipulates that ships going to the port to bunker should also be isolated for 14 days, which has greatly affected the number of ships going to bunker. According to industry insiders, this, together with other "obstacles", led to a year-on-year decline of about 30% - 40% in bunker sales in Hong Kong in 2020. At present, the demand for bunker fuel oil in Hong Kong is only about 400000 tons / month. 　　

　　Most of the ships bunkered with fuel oil in Hong Kong are bulk carriers and oil tankers. Now these ships prefer to bunker in Zhoushan because they pass through Zhoushan and it is convenient to bunker in Zhoushan. 　　

　　"Hong Kong has been seriously affected by the epidemic, and bunkering here has become very troublesome, so we chose to go to other ports such as Kaohsiung and Zhoushan to bunker." A shipowner said. 　

　　Even if the fuel price in Hong Kong is low, it will not stimulate demand. Platts’s data show that from October to December 2020, the average price of 0.5% low sulfur bunker fuel oil delivered in Hong Kong was 355.16 US dollars / ton, lower than the average price of the same grade fuel oil in Kaohsiung port of 381.64 US dollars / ton and Zhoushan port of 363.36 US dollars / ton in the same period, but the demand is still difficult to recover from the level before the epidemic.

　　"The demand for bunker fuel oil in Hong Kong is bleak. I only receive two or three enquiries every day. We don't buy oil futures any more. Every enquiry is made from stock." A Hong Kong bunker supplier said. 　　

　　To make matters worse, the desolation caused by the upcoming holiday. "The market is very calm. It may be due to the upcoming Lunar New Year. The situation is much worse than last month." The second bunker fuel supplier said.

　　The popularity of Zhoushan bunker fuel oil bunkering market is in sharp contrast to that of Hong Kong. In recent years, the bunker fuel oil market in Zhoushan has been expanding. According to the statistics of Zhoushan bonded fuel oil association, in 2020, Zhoushan port supplied 4.724 million tons of bonded fuel oil, with a year-on-year increase of 15.14%, becoming the eighth largest fuel oil supply port in the world.

　　While international shipping is coping with many challenges brought by the epidemic, Zhoushan has made a breakthrough against the trend and made remarkable achievements. Industry insiders said that the policies implemented by the Zhoushan government to improve the efficiency of the industry, including the implementation of value-added tax rebate for domestically produced fuel oil nationwide, reducing port fees and strengthening infrastructure construction, all helped to boost the prospects of the port. In addition, compared with other ports in Asia, Zhoushan's bunker fuel oil pricing is more economical, which also prompted shipowners to choose Zhoushan for bunkering.

　　 Source：HyqFocus、Platts   Reporter：Evan Liu