The PAS "defines general requirements that apply to all 0.50 mass % sulfur fuels and confirms the applicability of ISO 8217 for those fuels."

"Singapore and Fujairah [bunker] markets will move independently after 2020 depending on the fundamentals of each port,"a trader said.

"Healthy growth is sustainable as we have more supplies online along with transportation capacity expansion," Otabek Karimov, Rosneft's VP for commerce and logistics, said.

Freepoint, Marubeni among companies expanding into marine fuel

As of August 1, all 199 licensed bunker tankers for supply of fuel to ocean-going vessels have been fitted with calibrated MFMs, MPA said.

On the flip side, middle distillate-rich grades have been finding support from strong refinery margins.

Japanese refiner Cosmo Oil will slash its output of high sulfur fuel oil and boost middle distillate production once it completes the coker capacity expansion at its Sakai refinery during the second week of October.