{"id":100253,"date":"2019-06-05T14:55:39","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T13:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crownoil.co.uk\/?page_id=100253"},"modified":"2025-05-07T10:44:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T09:44:48","slug":"bunker-fuel-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.crownoil.co.uk\/guides\/bunker-fuel-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to Bunker Fuel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Bunker Fuel (Marine Gas Oil) Explained \u2013 An Easy Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The name bunker fuel is thought to come from the storage area within a boat or ship where fuel is stored, known as the fuel bunker. Maritime vessels use bunker fuel to power their motors, but depending on your vessel, it might not be regular white diesel<\/a>. Some watercraft indeed use diesel and other, larger vessels use marine gas oil<\/a> (which is considered a low-sulfur fuel oil or LSFO) as their source of bunker fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crown Oil is experienced in supplying both and in this bunker fuel guide, our aim is to help you understand the differences between marine fuel types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for the majority of larger commercial ocean-going vessels, they currently rely on HFO or heavy fuel oil to generate power onboard to propel their ships across the ocean, which is the most widely used type of fuel for these vessels. These are considered to be highly polluting and a cause of respiratory diseases and is a component of acid rain that damages vegetation and wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new regulations brought in by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5%, compared with the current limit of 3.5%. This will ultimately require all waterborne vessels to make the switch from heavy fuel oil (HFO) fuels to marine gas oil (MGO) or risk fines or even vessels being detained, which could affect vital requirements such as insurance cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read more about this on our sister company’s blog – 2020 IMO Regulations – Get Your Ship Ready<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bunker<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Contents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  1. What is bunker fuel?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Which bunker fuel is used by ocean-going vessels for the high seas?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Which bunker fuel do recreational vessels use?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Red diesel for marine use<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Do I need ultra-low sulphur fuel oil?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Marine fuel delivery<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    What is bunker fuel?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The name itself, ‘bunker fuel’ dates back to steam-powered ships, which at the time were powered by coal and stored their ‘fuel’ inside of ‘coal bunkers’ onboard the ship. Now, in place of coal bunkers, ships have fuel tanks, but they’re still often referred to as bunkers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As so, the name doesn\u2019t refer to the type of fuel the watercraft uses, so the fuel type can be a variety of different fuels depending on the vessel itself. Currently, for larger ocean-going vessels this will generally mean heavy fuel oil, but there are plans to limit its usage and move them towards using marine gas oil in future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Other types of bunker fuels include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n