Marine fuel market enters troubled waters

Ripple effect from Russia’s war in Ukraine may result in significant supply disruption

The global marine fuel market could face significant supply disruption caused by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is particularly vital to the bunker market’s supply chains, accounting for 14pc of global fuel oil and 58pc of vacuum gas oil (VGO) shipments in 2021, according to shipbroker Arrow. Russian fuel oil exports are already down by around a third already this month, says David Wech, chief economist at energy intelligence firm Vortexa. VGO is used as a feedstock to produce gasoline and very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), prices for which spiked in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion, reaching “record levels” in early March and remaining high, according to s