Marine fuel quality declines as bunker prices reach record highs

Marine fuel buyers are facing a combination of record-high bunker prices and a significant decline in fuel quality in 2026. Data from VPS indicates that the Middle East conflict has contributed to both price volatility and the deterioration of fuel quality across the traditional marine fossil fuel supply chain.

Between January and July 2026, VPS issued 29 Bunker Alerts, a figure that already exceeds the total number of alerts issued throughout the entirety of 2024 and approaches the 37 alerts recorded in 2025. Approximately 72% of these alerts are attributed to fuel stability issues and abrasive problems caused by elevated cat-fines.

The quality issues are most prevalent in HSFO and VLSFO fuels. Specifically, 8.87% of HSFO samples and 9.88% of VLSFO samples tested were found to be off-specification for at least one ISO8217 parameter. ULSFOs showed an off-specification rate of 19.58%, while Marine Gas Oil (MGO) has not accounted for any Bunker Alerts so far in 2026.