Bunkering Down: Why Vessels Now Buy Fuel Late

Two chemical tankers caught fire off Romania's Black Sea coast overnight on 15 October 2026, and seven crew are missing. For bunker suppliers and port agents, the commercial signal is that fuel buying decisions are being pushed later and later in the voyage.

What happened off Sulina

Rescuers searched on Thursday for seven missing crew from one of two chemical tankers that caught fire just outside Romanian territorial waters, after Russian drones strayed into national airspace, according to gCaptain.

A separate report identifies the vessel as the chemical and oil tanker Yara J, which reported a fire while at anchor 8-10 nautical miles southeast of the Sulina Canal in Romanian territorial waters, per Marine Insight. Romania is investigating a possible drone strike.

Both vessels were at anchor, waiting. That is the detail that matters commercially.

Why the bunker market is fragmenting

Shipowners are facing an increasingly fragmented fuel market as disruptions triggered by the Middle East conflict raise concerns about the availability and quality of supply, according to gCaptain.

When availability and quality are uncertain, a technical superintendent cannot fix a stem weeks ahead against a single supplier at a single port. The buying decision moves to the last 24-72 hours before arrival, when quality certificates and confirmed availability are known.

That shift changes who wins the order. The supplier holding a signed stem agreement loses to the supplier already talking to the right person when the vessel is still two days out.

Black Sea risk adds a second variable

Anchorage waiting time is the hidden cost. Two tankers at anchor near Sulina, one burning, forces every operator in the region to re-check anchorage exposure, crew safety and war-risk cover before confirming a port call.

Port suppliers should expect more vessels to hold at anchor while owners decide. Each hold is a window in which a stem, a chandlery order or a husbandry job can still be won or lost.

Alternative fuels are moving the same way

Fuel choice is also fragmenting at the top end. The world's first ship-to-ship green ammonia bunkering took place in China's Zhoushan port, where the liquid ammonia bunkering vessel Shenghang Yongle transferred 1,000 metric tons of green ammonia to a bulk carrier, per Marine Insight.

At the same time, Lloyd's Register has published Guidance Notes for Retrofit of Alternative Fuels and Energy Saving Devices, highlighting the growing complexity of ship retrofit projects as regulatory and commercial pressure increases through measures such as FuelEU Maritime, according to MarineLink.

Retrofit and fuel-conversion projects are planned months ahead, but the fuel they burn is still bought voyage by voyage. Suppliers that track which vessels are scheduled for conversion at nearby yards get an early view of future stem demand.

Port calls are shifting, not just fuel

Cargo routing is moving too. UK lobbyists pushed back at attempts to have Felixstowe, London and Southampton designated as neighbouring container transhipment ports in the ongoing question of whether shippers are rerouting cargo to avoid EU ETS charges, per The Loadstar.

Whether or not rerouting is happening, the argument itself signals that ports compete on cost and compliance, and that call patterns can change with a regulatory decision. Suppliers tied to one port's traditional traffic carry that risk.

What it means for chandlers, agents and yards

Three practical consequences follow from a late-deciding bunker market.

• Stem windows are shorter. A supplier who only learns about a vessel after it berths has already lost the enquiry to whoever called the technical superintendent two days earlier.
• Anchorage time is selling time. Vessels holding off Sulina, Constanta or any regional anchorage are reachable, and their superintendents are still deciding.
• Ports are substitutable. If ETS or war-risk costs push a call to another port, the supplier with contacts at the operator, not just at the port, keeps the relationship.

How to act before the stem is fixed

1. List the ports you can genuinely serve, including anchorage and outer-roadstead deliveries.
2. Track vessels near those ports plus expected arrivals, not just confirmed berth bookings.
3. Identify the company behind each vessel: owner, technical manager or operator, and the DOC holder.
4. Contact the technical or purchasing superintendent by role, with a specific offer and a quality certificate.
5. Follow up on the channel the recipient prefers, and stop when asked.

This is the workflow VesselReach was built for: detect vessels near your target ports and due to arrive, identify the right company behind each one, then reach the decision-maker before the vessel docks. VesselReach combines vessel intelligence, AI company targeting, decision-maker discovery and staged email, WhatsApp and phone outreach in one platform.

How VesselReach helps

Late bunker decisions reward suppliers who are already in the conversation.

• Vessel intelligence: see vessels near your ports and expected arrivals, which means you can open a stem conversation while the vessel is still at anchor or on passage.
• Decision-maker discovery: find technical, purchasing and operations contacts by role, which means your enquiry reaches the person who fixes the stem rather than a general inbox.
• Multichannel outreach and follow-ups: staged email, WhatsApp and phone contact with automated follow-ups, which means no enquiry goes cold while the owner is still deciding.

Book a VesselReach demo to see how vessel arrivals at your ports become qualified bunker and supply conversations.