Oil Major Shell has announced upcoming availability its newly developed Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) ahead of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s 0.50% global sulphur limit for marine fuels which comes into force in 2020.
Shell says that trials for the new fuel are currently ongoing with customers in Rotterdam, Singapore and New Orleans.
In the Americas, VLSFO with 0.5% sulphur content will be made available to the oil company’s customers in Freeport, New Orleans and Houston.
In Europe the fuel will be available in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Piraeus and the Great Belt (Danish Straits).
In the Middle East and Africa, Shell will sell the fuel in Fujairah, Durban, Richard’s Bay and Port Louis (Mauritius)
In Asia, the fuel will only be made available in Singapore initially.
The low sulphur fuel will therefore be made available in all of the four main bunkering ports worldwide: Rotterdam, Singapore, Fujairah and Houston, as well as a number of key ports for the Cruise industry around the world.