Panama’s August marine diesel sales rise 9.66% on year: AMP

Marine diesel fuel sales in Panama totaled 24,078 mt in August, up 2,122 mt, or 9.66%, from 21,956 mt in the year-ago month, Panama Maritime Authority data showed.

The August total marked the second-lowest of 2017.

The majority of sales came on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, with 16,629 mt sold, according to data published by the maritime authority on its website.

The port of Balboa, on the Pacific Coast, competes for business with the ports of Callao, Peru, and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Sales of fuel oil — which is blended to produce bunkers or is used for power generation — totaled 331,873 mt in August, 11% above the 298,206 mt sold in the year-ago month, the AMP said.

The number of ships seeking marine fuel in Panama rose 1% to 447 in August from 441 last year.

On the Pacific end of the canal, 313 ships bunkered in August, up 10 from the same month last year. Along the Atlantic end of the canal, 134 ships bunkered in the period, down four from the year-ago month.