Severe logistical bottlenecks in the Canary Islands, with the ports of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife operating at the brink of capacity, have triggered a drastic shift in shipping routes across the Atlantic. A report by Intercop in Las Palmas warns that significant delays at Europe’s usual refueling points and severe supply constraints in the Mediterranean have pushed operators to seek desperate alternatives. A combination of depleted inventories at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining hub, together with intense congestion in the Strait of Gibraltar — where more than a dozen vessels were waiting in line last week — has redirected a sharp increase in demand for direct bunkering toward the Canary Islands and the West African coast.
Critical pressure in La Luz
According to Intercop’s weekly report sent to clients last Sunday, the Port of Las Palmas (Puerto de La Luz) is bearing the brunt of this sudden market shift. Local barge capacity and the immediate availability of fuel are under enormous pressure. Shipowners are advised to secure delivery dates at least 10 days in advance to guarantee supply coverage. The supply deficit in Gibraltar has forced container ships, bulk carriers and tankers to seek fuel in the Bay of Gran Canaria, pushing local VLSFO prices to between $615 and $630 per metric ton, while LSMGO is quoted at between $775 and $795 per metric ton.
Tenerife absorbs diverted demand
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, operating conditions reflect similarly strained supply dynamics, driven by indirect demand. Although delivery windows in Tenerife remain slightly more flexible than in Las Palmas — averaging between seven and nine days — suppliers are applying strict scheduling protocols. Tenerife has absorbed part of Gran Canaria’s excess demand, with VLSFO prices ranging from $620 to $635 per metric ton and LSMGO between $780 and $800 per metric ton, maintaining sufficient regional competitiveness to prevent vessels from shifting to Cape Verde or West Africa.
Dakar gains an advantage
Farther south, Intercop describes a fragmented supply situation in West Africa, marked by significant differences in operational efficiency. Dakar, Senegal, has emerged as the most reliable and fluid refueling hub along the entire African Atlantic coast. Local suppliers in Dakar confirm immediate and uninterrupted availability of both VLSFO and LSMGO, allowing vessels to refuel with very little notice. This immediacy provides a vital alternative for Atlantic operators seeking to avoid the 10-day waits in the Canary Islands, with VLSFO prices between $635 and $650 per metric ton and LSMGO between $810 and $830 per metric ton.
Tension in the Gulf of Guinea
By contrast, the Gulf of Guinea continues to struggle to meet immediate demand. At the Lomé anchorage in Togo and in the offshore area of Lagos, Nigeria, suppliers require strict five- to seven-day advance notice for both products. In Lomé, VLSFO is quoted at between $645 and $660 per metric ton, while LSMGO ranges from $820 to $845 per metric ton. In Lagos, VLSFO prices are higher, ranging from $650 to $670 per metric ton, while LSMGO costs $830-$855 per metric ton because of surcharges for the use of local barges and security costs.
Storm on the Southern Route
Along the South Atlantic corridor, Luanda, Angola, is showing stable operational performance, offering VLSFO and LSMGO with competitive delivery times of four to five days. VLSFO in Luanda is currently priced between $640 and $655 per metric ton, while LSMGO stands at $815-$835 per metric ton. In Walvis Bay, Namibia, the product is available with five- to seven-day notice, but operations are facing serious weather-related problems; continuous waves exceeding two meters in height are hampering ship-to-ship fuel transfers offshore, keeping VLSFO prices between $655 and $675 per metric ton.
Rising imports into ARA
Across the rest of the European and Mediterranean markets, independent fuel oil inventories in the ARA region rose by an average of 5% month on month despite limited immediate availability, with delivery windows holding firm at five to seven days. Fuel oil imports into ARA rose in August to 381,000 barrels per day — a sharp increase from 159,000 barrels per day in July — led by shipments from Venezuela (21%), Benin (20%) and Lithuania (10%). ARA diesel imports reached 129,000 barrels per day, mainly originating from the United States (26%), the United Kingdom (11%) and France (8%).
Widespread delays across Europe
Elsewhere in northern Europe, Hamburg reports stable availability with five days’ notice, while Gothenburg and Skaw require extended lead times of 10 to 14 days. In the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and Barcelona require seven to 10 days’ advance notice, while Malta maintains stable supplies of VLSFO and LSMGO with seven days’ notice. In Piraeus, immediate availability remains limited, requiring five to seven days. Istanbul shows stable VLSFO and ULSFO stocks but reduced LSMGO supply. Finally, Port Louis, Mauritius, represents the most serious bottleneck in the Indian Ocean, where suppliers have postponed all deliveries until September at the earliest, putting VLSFO estimates at between $680 and $700 per metric ton.
The article “Bunkering: Supply shortages in Las Palmas and Tenerife force shipowners to reroute Atlantic voyages” was first published on canarymaritime.com.
