Bad weather off Malta stops ship-to-ship fuel oil blending

Reports suggest that all operations off Malta remain suspended due to waves reaching 1-1.5 metres high, causing problems to tanker, bulk and container vessels which are normally loaded in Birzebbugia.

"Bad weather persists in Malta and thus no possibility for blending," a fuel oil trader told industry experts Platts.

Bunker operations onshore Malta are being carried out as scheduled, while operations in the southeast remain suspended, sources said.  

Malta is considered as a key storage port for fuel oil and clean products, and is extensively used as a ship-to-ship transfer hub for arbitrage cargoes from Asia.

It is also a key entry point for Asian vessels coming up through the Suez Canal and an ideal location for large vessels to discharge onto smaller vessels.

Platts said that continued bad weather has started to affect the 30,000 metric tonnes freight market. "In my opinion rates will carry on to grow," a freight source told Platts, and adverse weather could continue to cause supply disruptions into Friday.