Alkagesta Considers ULSFO Supply in Spain as Mediterranean ECA Bites

Alkagesta is considering extending ultra-low sulphur fuel oil supply into Spain in response to demand created by the Mediterranean emission control area, according to reporting by Ship & Bunker.

The Mediterranean ECA entered force in May 2025, capping the sulphur content of marine fuel used in the region at 0.1%. Vessels without exhaust gas cleaning systems must burn compliant product, and the practical choice is between marine gas oil and 0.1% ULSFO. The latter is typically cheaper per tonne and, for some engine configurations, operationally preferable — but it is only useful where a supplier can guarantee availability.

Supply follows regulation

Alkagesta began supplying 0.1% ULSFO across the Central and Eastern Mediterranean during 2025, aligning its marine offer with the new requirement. Extending that coverage westwards to Spanish ports would give shipowners transiting Gibraltar and calling at Algeciras, Barcelona or Valencia an alternative to gas oil on routes that already carry heavy container and tanker traffic.

The commercial calculation

Establishing ULSFO supply in a new port cluster is not a trading decision alone. It requires blending or import logistics, tank capacity, barge availability and confidence that demand will persist rather than evaporate as fleets install scrubbers or shift to alternative fuels. Suppliers therefore tend to move incrementally, testing volumes before committing infrastructure.

For Alkagesta, the potential Spanish move fits a pattern of building marine capability around regulatory change: ULSFO in the Mediterranean, storage and marine distribution in Singapore, corporate membership of IBIA and preparation for biofuel blends. Each step is modest on its own; together they describe a trader converting itself into a physical marine fuel supplier.

The company has not confirmed a timetable, and any Spanish supply would depend on terminal arrangements and sustained demand from the ECA.

Sources

• Ship & Bunker — Alkagesta Considers Bringing ULSFO Supply to Spain in Response to Med ECA — 24 October 2025
• Manifold Times — Malta-based Alkagesta becomes corporate member of IBIA — 14 November 2025
• Alkagesta — Company website