Richards Bay bunker prices
ZARCB · ZA · Major bunkering hub
Arithmetic on the 6 nearest ports where a price was observed, weighted by distance. Nobody has quoted this at Richards Bay, and it carries nothing about the barge, the volume or your credit — which is what actually sets the number.
Why there is no assessment here yet
Only 0 observations in the last 72 hours. We publish an assessment from 3 or more.
No price is published for this port yet. Our assessment is built only from what we observe here — prices suppliers submit to us, quotes received against requests raised here, and stems that close — so it appears once this port has traffic. A request raised now still reaches suppliers; it does not wait for an index.
Our own assessment, computed from observations made on this platform: prices submitted by suppliers, quotes received against requests raised here, and stems that closed. Weighted by how firm each observation is (a closed stem counts three times a list price), by how recent it is, and by parcel size. Values more than 15% from the median are excluded. No third-party assessment is used as an input, and no number is published from fewer than three observations or fewer than two independent sources.
Who supplies fuel at Richards Bay
8 of these are on the port authority's register of licensed suppliers. The rest publish their own coverage of this port.
Their bunker desks, or send one request and let the replies come to you.
Taking fuel at Richards Bay
Operational notes, from the port authority and the suppliers’ own published documents. Checked 2026-08-31.
Richards Bay is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and Africa Ports says bunkering "is provided by bunker barge or from the chemical and coal berths - berths 209, 301 and 302", the barge being SMIT BONGANI, operated by AMSOL. A ship at a coal berth is therefore not automatically a barge job; ask which of the three your supplier can reach. Berth 209, the chemical berth, is the size-limited one: 225 metres LOA, 12.5 metres draught, not more than 67,000 dwt. Pilotage is compulsory from about three miles south-east of the south breakwater and tug assistance is compulsory, so any movement is a booked job. The outer anchorage lies three to five miles south-east of the entrance; the inner one is for emergency use only.
Shore tankage is modest. FFS Tank Terminals publishes 44,000 cubic metres at Richards Bay in four tanks of 4,500 to 15,000 cubic metres with two import pipelines, receiving and despatching by vessel and road tanker over common-user berths operated by Transnet National Ports Authority, and is permitted to store only high-flash product above 60.5 C. Its heating and blending services are listed for Cape Town and Durban, not for Richards Bay.
- Transnet National Ports Authority's own site could not be reached, so the berth, anchorage and pilotage detail here rests on Africa Ports rather than on the port authority.
- No source publishes a maximum stem, a barge or shore pumping rate, or a nomination lead time.
- SMIT BONGANI's capacity, and how many bunker barges serve the port, are not published.
- No source says which grades can actually be lifted at berths 209, 301 and 302, or whether fuel oil and gasoil are both available at each.
- FFS lists berth details under its Richards Bay heading that name Maydon Wharf, which is in Durban, so those berth figures were not used here and its Richards Bay loading berths remain unverified.
Ask the supplier to confirm these before you fix a stem on them.
The working behind the estimate above.
Those are prices at those ports, not at Richards Bay, and the distances are great-circle rather than routed. The estimate above is arithmetic on them — it carries no information about the barge, the volume or your credit, which is what actually sets the number. A request is the only way to get a real one.
Indicative only. Typical stem time here is about 8 hours alongside.
VLSFO at nearby and alternative ports
| Port | Grade | USD / MT | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
Durbanlow | VLSFO | $927 | 2026-09-0145d |
| VLSFO | $956 | 2026-09-0343d | |
| VLSFO | $948 | 2026-09-0541d | |
| VLSFO | $959 | 2026-09-0739d | |
| VLSFO | $966 | 2026-09-0938d | |
| VLSFO | $970 | 2026-09-1136d |
Not an offer to sell — a firm price exists only once a supplier has quoted.
A lower headline price at another port is not automatically a saving. Deviation burns fuel and charter hire, and a bunker-only call costs port time.
Richards Bay bunkering FAQ
- What is the bunker price at Richards Bay today?
- No price is published at Richards Bay. The closest port where one is, is Durban, about 83 nautical miles away — VLSFO at $927 a tonne.
- Is Richards Bay a cheap bunkering port?
- Whether a port is cheap for your vessel depends on the deviation cost, not just the headline price — reaching a cheaper port costs charter hire and fuel.
- Does EU ETS apply at Richards Bay?
- Richards Bay is outside the EU/EEA, so EU ETS does not apply to a call here in itself. It may still apply to the voyage legs if your vessel is heading to or from an EU port.