Bunker Costs Push Intra-Asia Freight Rates Up 10% as Gulf Disruption Bites

By Alison Koo (The Loadstar) – The role of bunkers in freight rates has finally crossed into the intra-Asia market, with average rates rising by 10% over the past fortnight.

Drewry’s Intra-Asia Container Index showed that as of Friday, rates averaged $675 per feu, excluding terminal handling charges.

The largest gain was seen in the Shanghai-Singapore rate, which increased 18% from 13 March, to $746 per feu. This was followed by the Busan-Shanghai rate, which went up by 13%, to $53 per feu.

Bunker prices in Asia tend to be higher than in Europe and the US, as the region relies on fuel oil imports from the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of hostilities between the US, Israel and Iran on 28 February, has disrupted the flow of 20% of the world’s oil supply.

Asia is also dependent on Middle Eastern refineries for supply of between very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), the most commonly burnt marine fuel.

Asian refiners, particularly in India and East Asia, are facing shortages of heavy-sour crude, the main feedstock for high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), causing lower runs and reduced output.

The spread between VLSFO and HSFO has widened to over $100 per tonne, increasing costs for ships without scrubbers.

The Loadstar understands that certain bunker suppliers and oil majors have declared force majeure on fixed-price sales contracts, forcing ship operators to pay higher spot prices. Shipping lines have thus factored in the higher fuel costs into their freight prices.

Clarksons noted that container ships have coped with the situation by reducing their sailing speeds by 2% from the start of 2026, as VLSFO prices have more than doubled from before the war.

However, intra-Asia freight rates are not rising as fast as other lanes, due to shipping capacity being diverted from the Persian Gulf to South and Southeast Asia.

Drewry senior consultant (Supply Chain Advisors) Stijn Rubens told The Loadstar: “About 1.5% of the fleet is caught in the Persian Gulf now, so that has the effect of reducing capacity. Then, there will be gaps in the weekly schedules, as well as increased need for transhipment in neighbouring hubs, where we are likely to see congestion spikes both in transhipment hubs (Oman, Khor Fakkan) as well as alternative gateways (Jeddah/Turkey/Pakistan). These inefficiencies will also reduce effective capacity of the fleet. As a secondary effect, carriers may choose to deploy the vessels from Middle East loops on different loops.”

The Loadstar is known at the highest levels of logistics and supply chain management as one of the best sources of influential analysis and commentary.

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