CM Technologies Raises Alarm Over Recent Shipping Fuel Quality Concerns

German testing specialist CM Technologies (CMT) advises that shipowners and operators need to maintain close checks on fuel quality following a series of off-specification alerts at major bunkering ports and warns that contaminated or unstable fuels can result in costly engine damage and vessel downtime.

The advisory follows reports of fuel quality problems at Antwerp, Rotterdam, Houston, Singapore, Hong Kong, Piraeus and other bunkering locations during the past six months, involving excessive catalytic fines, poor fuel stability, high sediment levels and low flash points.

In part, the drop in fuel quality can be attributed to the supply chain disruption caused by the current geopolitical landscape and conflict, said David Fuhlbrügge, joint managing director at CM Technologies (CMT).

In August, fuel testing specialist VPS identified the Middle East conflict as a major factor behind both rising bunker prices and deteriorating fuel quality. It also issued 29 bunker alerts during the first seven months of 2026, with excessive catalytic fines and fuel stability problems accounting for 72% of them. Data published by West P&I in September, covering fuel samples tested between April and September 2026, found technical off-specification rates for heavy fuel oil (HFO) of 46.2% in Antwerp, 41.4% in Norfolk, 38% in the Panama Canal region and 35.5% in Rotterdam.

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