Bunkering: Canarias and la costa de West Africa sufren demoras críticas en HSFO y VLSFO
The mid-Atlantic marine fuel supply business is facing a simultaneous capacity crisis driven by bad weather and a lack of immediate inventory. Restrictions at the Strait of Gibraltar, where rough seas produce waves of between 1.5 and 2 metres and winds of up to 25 knots are forecast between 3 and 4 July, have halted bunkering at anchor outside port limits. The stoppage shifts all operational pressure directly to terminals in the Canary Islands and the Sub-Saharan West Africa front, where operators are demanding extraordinary delivery lead times of up to two weeks to ensure bunkering for fleets in transit.
Proveedores
Canary Islands platforms are in an extreme position of vulnerability. Choppy seas force the suspension of normal barge-based supplies, limiting activity in Las Palmas and Tenerife to vessels berthed or protected within the breakwaters. As a result, immediate availability on the archipelago is scarce, and suppliers are already asking buyers for strict delivery windows of between 7 and 10 days to secure any type of marine fuel, stripping the islands of commercial agility versus European routes.
Oleaje
Paralysis at the Strait of Gibraltar, where Algeciras, Gibraltar and Ceuta require mandatory 10-day waits in advance to grant coverage to ships, has prompted shipping lines to seek alternative supplies by moving down toward West Africa ports. However, African terminals are operating without emergency reserves. In Lomé, Togo, commercial operators require VLSFO and LSMGO purchases to be fixed with a minimum of 10 days’ advance notice—an identical bottleneck to the one reported along the coasts of Walvis Bay, Namibia, where official delivery recommendations are also set at 10 days of waiting.
Colapso
Delays at production and distribution nodes in Guinea and the South Atlantic are complicating the continuity of supply chains. In Lagos, Nigeria, VLSFO deliveries call for lead times of between 5 and 7 days, while in Luanda, Angola, shipowners face mandatory delays of between 5 and 6 days to receive cargoes of distilled marine fuels. This sluggish response extends to the southern cone, with lead times of between 7 and 10 days at ports of Nacala and Maputo in Mozambique, and peaks of extreme collapse in Port Louis, Mauritius, where waits force bookings to be made between 10 and 15 days in advance.
This scenario of saturation in West Africa and the Canaries contrasts with conditions in northwest Europe, where the region’s ARA distribution hub imported 247,000 barrels per day of fuel oil in June, increasing its independent stocks by 8% compared with May. However, global physical scarcity is forcing European buyers at Skaw and Gothenburg ports to book with 10 days’ advance notice, effectively closing the supply loop across the continent and prioritising the need for international freight to absorb the additional costs and cumulative delays at terminals along the Canary Islands–Africa corridor.
The entry Bunkering: Canarias and West Africa’s coast face critical delays in HSFO and VLSFO was first published on encanarymaritime.com.
