The Port Authority of Rotterdam has announced that in the First quarter of 2026 bunkering activity in the port recorded a sharp decrease of -25% compared to the previous year. same period as last year. In particular, the largest drop of marine fuel supplies occurred in fossil fuel oil segment, specifically VLSFO (-44%), HSFO (-25%) and ULSFO (-13%), fuels that respectively have a sulphur content of less than 0.5% by mass, exceeding 0.5% and within 0.1%. Spirits also declined, with marine diesel down by -7% and marine diesel oil -11%. On the other hand, sales of alternative marine fuels, with those of bio-LNG and biomethanol growth of +6.4% and those of biofuels of +2.7%, and this mainly - specified the port authority - due to a switch to bioblended distillates. In addition, biomixed LNG is delivered for the first time on a significant scale, achieving in the first quarter supplies of over 15,000 cubic meters.

Explaining the reasons that may have contributed to the reduction of bunkering activities in the port of Rotterdam, the has noted that these developments may be partly explained by the implementation in the Netherlands of the European RED directive III which led to higher prices than in the countries neighbors. According to the authority, moreover, even the changes from the operational side determined by regulation and policies may have played a role, as well as volatility and price uncertainty may have led to a lower bunker question. The body specified that the first quarter of 2026 in the port of Rotterdam the effects are not yet felt on bunkering developments in the Strait of Hormuz, which is expected to become more noticeable in the second trimester.

With regard to the European directive RED III, which is entered into force on 20 November 2023 and which aims to increase the use of renewable energy, the Marine & Offshore classification society and Bureau Veritas has published an impact report of the Maritime Directive. About the application of the directive in the Netherlands, which recently transposed the European standard in the national legal system, the report recalls that the The Dutch maritime sector had previously benefited from the HBE (Hernieuwbare Brandstofeenheden) system to incentivize the use of renewable energy in the transport sector, which is being replaced with the new system introduced by RED IIII, and points out that, with the end of this system, the price of the bunkering could increase. The report also specifies that, as Germany and Belgium are implementing transpositions of the RED III Directive different from that of the Netherlands, the latter has announced that it may make changes to its transposition.