随着中东冲突引发的混乱加剧了人们对供应可用性和质量的担忧，船东们正面临一个日益碎片化的燃料市场。
Shipowners are facing an increasingly fragmented fuel market as disruptions triggered by the Middle East conflict raise concerns about the availability and quality of supply.
由于霍尔木兹海峡和红海附近敌对行动升级，船只被迫绕道非洲进行更长的航程，并改道大西洋盆地，因此无法总是在熟悉的港口加注燃料。这把其他地方变成了所谓的船用燃料补给中心，并推高了燃料价格。
Ships can’t always refuel at familiar ports if they’re forced on longer journeys around Africa and diverted to the Atlantic Basin to avoid escalating hostilities near the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. That’s turned other locations into so-called bunkering hubs and driven up fuel prices.
经营167艘全球化学品运输船的Stolt-Nielsen Ltd.亚太区总裁弗雷德里克·古特姆森（Frederik Guttormsen）表示：“没有人能再把燃料补给当作例行的、临时的决定了。我们正在更早地锁定燃料，并追踪主要港口的可用性和交货时间，因为现在的风险既关乎即时供应，也关乎价格。”古特姆森称，由于该地区最近发生的袭击事件（包括针对途经霍尔木兹海峡船只的袭击），中东石油流向正面临新的压力。
“No one can treat bunkering as a routine, last-minute decision anymore,” said Frederik Guttormsen, Asia Pacific president at Stolt-Nielsen Ltd., an operator of 167 tankers that transport chemicals worldwide. “We’re securing fuel earlier and tracking availability and lead times at key ports because the risk is now as much about prompt supply as about price.”Middle East oil flows are coming under renewed strain from recent attacks in the region, including on vessels transiting Hormuz.
这些混乱正推动石油和船用燃料价格上涨。他在新加坡举行的Sibcon航运会议期间发表了上述言论。
The disruptions are pushing oil and bunker prices higher, Guttormsen said. He made the comments on the sidelines of a shipping conference in Singapore known as Sibcon.
全球最大的船舶加注中心新加坡继续保持增长，而船舶则倾向于避开位于阿拉伯联合酋长国东海岸、霍尔木兹海峡以南的富查伊拉。Sibcon与会者表示，自美伊战争爆发以来，燃料补给需求增加的其他地点还包括毛里求斯的路易港、南非、西非、巴西、斯里兰卡和巴基斯坦。
Singapore, the world’s biggest ship-refueling hub, continues to see growth, while vessels are tending to avoid Fujairah on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, south of Hormuz. Other locations seeing higher bunkering demand since the US-Iran war include Port Louis in Mauritius, South Africa, West Africa, Brazil, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, according to participants at Sibcon.
在不太熟悉的港口加注燃料可能会使船东面临规模较小或信誉较低的卖家的风险，以及不同地点之间更大的价格差异。价格差异可能反映了燃料采购、获取达标原料以及确保质量和合规所需的配套服务可用性等因素。
Bunkering at less familiar ports may expose shipowners to smaller or less reputable sellers, as well as wider price disparities between locations. Differences can reflect factors including fuel sourcing, access to on-spec feedstock and the availability of support services needed to ensure quality and compliance.
主要船用燃料贸易商兼供应商TFG Marine的执行董事兼全球船用燃料主管肯尼斯·达姆（Kenneth Dam）表示：“在这个市场中，采购需要更有条理。”他说，船舶加油也变得更加频繁，每次停靠时加注的数量也更少，以避免在特定价格和港口锁定过多燃料。
“In this market, procurement needs to be much more structured,” said Kenneth Dam, executive director and global head of bunkering at TFG Marine, a major trader and supplier of ship fuels. Vessels are also refueling more frequently and taking smaller volumes at each stop to avoid locking in too much fuel at a particular price and port, he said.
油轮船东Hafnia Ltd.船用燃料主管兼船用燃料贸易商Seascale Energy联席首席执行官彼得·格吕恩瓦尔特（Peter Grünwaldt）表示，混乱状况也变得更加频繁，导致船只改道，将燃料需求转移到了其他地方。他说：“我们正在确保我们在这些港口备有燃料。”
Disruptions are also becoming more frequent, leading to vessel diversions that are shifting fuel demand to other locations, said Peter Grünwaldt, head of bunkering at tanker owner Hafnia Ltd. and co-chief executive officer of bunker trader Seascale Energy. “We’re making sure we have fuel available at these ports,” he said.