\n\t
![](\"https:\/\/shipandbunker.cdn.speedyrails.net\/a\/img\/5866e9f59c8f9daa64b9f8c57e517974.v.652.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t
\n\t\tAntwerp’s gain from Q4 to Q1 matches Rotterdam’s loss
\n\t
\n\t\tAntwerp becomes world’s second-largest bunkering port
\n\t
\n\t\tEffect may last until start of 2027
\n\t
\n\t\tMFMs unlikely to have been a factor in Rotterdam’s decline
<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/p>\n \n\tRotterdam’s bunker sales sank to their lowest level since at least 2009 in Q1<\/p>\n
\n\tImage Credit: Ship & Bunker<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/p>\n \n\tBelgium may not implement RED III until as late as the start of 2027<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/p>\n \n\tMFMs can largely be ruled out as a factor<\/p>\n
About Jack Jordan<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Port of Rotterdam’s sudden loss of more than a quarter of its bunker sales<\/a> in Q1 appears to have been entirely taken up by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, with the implementation of the RED III regulation in the Netherlands the likely culprit.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs Ship & Bunker reported previously, the Port of Rotterdam’s conventional and biofuel bunker sales sank to their lowest level since at least 2009 in the first quarter, down by 28.1% on the year and by 27.2% from the previous three months.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe outright loss from Q4 to Q1 was 648,399 mt. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has now reported a gain of 662,506 mt in conventional and biofuel marine fuel sales between Q4 and Q1.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Belgian port saw total sales excluding marine lubricants and LNG of 2.12 million mt in the first quarter, it said this week, up by 37.7% from Q4 and by 13.4% from Q1 2025.<\/p>\n
\n\tThat made Antwerp the world’s second-largest bunkering location after Singapore in Q1, when normally its sales are consistently below Rotterdam’s.<\/p>\n
\n\tAntwerp’s VLSFO sales surged by 83.3% on the quarter to 955,032 mt in Q1. HSFO rose by 37% to 718,016 mt, ULSFO advanced by 31.7% to 164,114 mt, MGO fell by 2.2% to 338,364 mt and biofuels jumped by 89.1% to 20,726 mt.<\/p>\n
\n\tRED III
\n![\"ANALYSIS:](\"https:\/\/shipandbunker.cdn.speedyrails.net\/a\/img\/_fl_86f84ba28b1788e16ae81467554f343f.v.652.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Netherlands has implemented the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive III since the start of January, requiring fuel suppliers to reduce the GHG emissions of their fuel pool by at least 2.9% by the blending in of marine biodiesel blends derived from Annex IX-A feedstocks, and this has prompted suppliers to add the cost of compliance with this regulation to their prices.<\/p>\n
\n\tBelgium, by contrast, may not implement RED III until as late as the start of 2027, meaning Antwerp’s current advantage over Rotterdam may last a full year.<\/p>\n
\n\tVLSFO delivered at Rotterdam came at a $14\/mt premium to Antwerp’s prices in Q1, according to Ship & Bunker prices<\/a>, while in the previous three months the two ports had the same price on average.<\/p>\n
\n\tHowever, the disruption caused by the war in the Middle East may be limiting Antwerp’s advantage, with Rotterdam’s VLSFO premium coming down to $4.81\/mt so far this month on average, from $23.70\/mt in March.<\/p>\n
\n\tMFMs Not Taking the Blame<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore Antwerp’s numbers came out, one possible partial explanation for Rotterdam’s decline in sales was its making mass flow meters mandatory for bunker deliveries at the start of this year.<\/p>\n
\n\tMFMs are a more accurate measuring system than traditional methods, and are being introduced to avoid the problem seen in the past of bunker buyers receiving less fuel than they had paid for, so it was conceivable that the MFM mandate took one or two percent off Rotterdam’s sales in Q1.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Port of Rotterdam referred obliquely to this regulation in its statement on Q1 bunker sales, saying ‘operational changes in regulation and policy may also have played a role’.<\/p>\n
\n\tHowever, since Antwerp mandated MFMs at the same time as Rotterdam and saw a large rise in its sales, MFMs can largely be ruled out as a factor in Rotterdam’s drop in bunkering activity.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt should also be noted that when Singapore introduced MFMs in 2017 concerns were raised that it might deliver a significant decline in official sales data, but no such fall ever emerged.<\/p>\n
![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/shipandbunker.cdn.speedyrails.net\/s\/img\/jack.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n