Russian marine fuel trader Soyuz Bunkering is to shut its Singapore operations after just 19 months in business.
Soyuz, part of Russian private investment company Summa Group, is headquartered in Rotterdam. It’s CEO, Peter Grunwaldt, sits in Dubai.
Company officials told IHS Maritime that its traded volumes in Singapore had been negligible and it decided to concentrate on its operations in Rotterdam.
Soyuz also has an office in Hong Kong.
The company entered the bunkering industry in January 2014, aiming to tap bunker suppliers in Russia to trade in big bunkering port cities.
Industry insiders told IHS Maritime that Soyuz’s departure from Singapore highlighted the competitiveness of the city-state’s bunker market.
“Singapore may be the world’s biggest bunkering port by sales volume but, in reality the market is small,” said one bunker trader.
Since 2011, at least 20 bunker suppliers have left the market in Singapore.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
