A viewpoint published on Ship & Bunker by bunker procurement intelligence firm Fuelsure is challenging shipowners and charterers to fundamentally reassess how they buy marine fuel — arguing that the industry’s habitual focus on the cheapest per-tonne quote is a flawed strategy that crises make impossible to ignore.
Availability Has Replaced Price as the Primary Concern
According to Fuelsure’s analysis, the current market has moved well beyond a simple high-price environment. The firm argues that for many buyers today, the most pressing question is not what a stem costs — it is whether fuel can be secured at all in time to complete the voyage commercially.
Fuelsure references a Reuters report from 27 March stating that the ongoing conflict has already removed around 11 million barrels per day from global oil supply. The viewpoint also cites a warning from Barclays that a sustained closure of the Strait of Hormuz could pull a further 13 to 14 million barrels per day off the market — a volume the firm notes represents close to a fifth of total global demand.
In that context, Fuelsure contends that buyers are no longer engaged in procurement optimisation. They are managing an operational survival challenge.
Supply Stress Can Create Quality Risk
The viewpoint goes further, cautioning that tightening supply conditions rarely arrive alone. Fuelsure warns that when physical availability comes under pressure, blending practices can become more opportunistic and supply chain predictability can deteriorate — increasing the risk of inconsistency across stems that still pass on-paper specifications.
According to the firm, this pattern tends to follow a familiar sequence: supply stress surfaces first, and quality problems often emerge in its wake. By the time the broader market recognises the issue, the cost has typically already materialised onboard.
The Real Lesson Must Outlast the Crisis
Perhaps the most pointed argument in the piece is directed at what happens when conditions normalise. Fuelsure cautions that once Hormuz fears recede and headline panic fades, many buyers will be tempted to revert to comparing dollars per tonne and treating bunker procurement as a routine task. The firm argues this would represent the industry failing to learn from a crisis that has made longstanding vulnerabilities visible.
Reuters is also cited in the viewpoint for reporting that Brent crude remains approximately 52% higher than at the start of the conflict, even after posting its first weekly decline since hostilities began — underlining that physical markets recover far more slowly than paper prices might suggest.
Fuelsure advocates evaluating fuel purchases across three dimensions: energy-adjusted economics, quality risk, and delivery reliability. The firm argues that supplier selection should weigh the probability of performance alongside price, and that the true cost of a bunker stem is only fully understood across the voyage that follows — not at the moment the deal is fixed.
Gulf Bunkering does not provide operational or security guidance. This article is for informational purposes only. Operators should consult flag state authorities, P&I clubs, and relevant advisories for decisions relating to transit planning.
Sources: Ship & Bunker (Fuelsure viewpoint)
