Zhoushan bunkering fully suspended as Typhoon Champi nears

Bunkering at Zhoushan has now stopped across the whole port, ENGINE reports, citing a source. Earlier this week only the outer Tiaozhoumen and Xiazhimen anchorages were shut, while work went on at Xiushandong and inner Mazhi. No date for a restart has been given.

Some suppliers at the port now advise booking roughly 13 days ahead for VLSFO and roughly 11 days ahead for HSFO. Zhoushan prices moved higher on the day for all three main grades, and its VLSFO premium over Singapore widened.

Champi is still a super typhoon, but its winds have eased to 195 km/h from a peak of 250 km/h, according to the Hong Kong Observatory. Forecasters expect it to weaken over the East China Sea on Saturday, then curve to the northeast and track past the port on its eastern side during the weekend, dropping to a tropical storm by Sunday.

For a buyer, this means:

• If your ship calls Zhoushan in the next two weeks, confirm the stem date now and expect a queue once work resumes.
• Keep a backup plan at another port on the route if timing is tight.
• Ask for an updated lead time after the storm passes, as the backlog may take days to clear.