The IMO 2020 sulphur cap transformed the marine fuel market. VLSFO now dominates open-sea operation; LSMGO covers Emission Control Areas; alternative fuels — biofuel blends, LNG, methanol — are growing shares for vessels meeting voluntary or regulatory decarbonisation targets.
VLSFO
VLSFO is the dominant marine fuel grade globally since the IMO 2020 sulphur cap took effect on 1 January 2020. It refers to any residual marine fuel with sulphur content at or belo…
HSFO
HSFO remains a commercial marine fuel for vessels equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) that remove sulphur from combustion exhaust. Before IMO 2020, HSFO was the …
LSMGO
LSMGO is a distillate marine fuel with sulphur content at or below 0.10%. It is the standard compliance fuel for Emission Control Areas (ECAs) worldwide — the North American ECA, N…
MGO
MGO is the general category of distillate marine fuel, covering a range of sulphur contents. Standard MGO can be supplied at 1.0% or higher sulphur in some markets; for ECA complia…
ULSFO
ULSFO is a residual marine fuel reformulated to 0.10% sulphur — essentially compliant with ECA requirements as a residual rather than distillate. It occupies a small but specialise…
Biofuel
Biofuel blends combine conventional marine fuel (typically VLSFO) with biocomponent (generally FAME or UCOME). The numeric label indicates biocomponent percentage: B24 is 24% biofu…
LNG
LNG is the most mature alternative marine fuel after biofuel blends. It is natural gas cooled to -162°C, occupying about 1/600th of its gaseous volume, enabling efficient storage. …
Methanol
Methanol is an emerging marine fuel gaining attention as a pathway to deeper decarbonisation than LNG can offer. Liquid at ambient conditions (unlike LNG), it uses simpler onboard …