You are using an outdated browser For a better experience using this site, please upgrade to a modern web browser. Subscribe Get Daily Email Subscribe --> Contact Us Sign in Home News & Features Compliance Costs Bunker Prices Bunker Intelligence World News Latest Features World Americas EMEA Asia/Pacific Home News & Features World VIEWPOINT: Should You Worry About Your Bunkering Agreements? Maybe You Should VIEWPOINT: Should You Worry About Your Bunkering Agreements? Maybe You Should by Jaison Kallikkanathu John and Danish Shadab Thursday September 24, 2026 Tweet Follow @shipandbunker Jaison K. John (l) is a commercial lawyer with experience in international commercial and regulatory matters. Danish Shadab (r) has nearly a decade of commercial experience in the maritime industry We live in unprecedented times, in a world plunged into never-ending wars. It almost seems akin to a game of whack-a-mole, where you whack one war, and another pops up. Such wars have taken a toll on the oil industry, with the rising cost of oil resulting in increased bunker fuel costs. The US and Iran war of late February 2026 triggered the latest global price shock. In Singapore , the price of VLSFO more than doubled from a pre-war baseline of about USD 521.5 per tonne to a peak of USD 1,100 to 1,120 per tonne by mid-March , a jump of roughly 110% to 115% in just a few weeks. By September 2026 , prices had pulled back from those highs but were still trading at an average of USD 863 per tonne, about 65% above their pre-war levels. The latest capture of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea by the Houthis on September 10, 2026 may further strain supply. In such situations, the risks associated with entering into bunker fuel agreements become greater. While the risks are many, we look at two interesting risks that we have seen in publicly available bunker fuel agreements used by leading bunker fuel traders: 1) Liquidated Damages Risk Bunker fuel agreements tend to be one-sided, cons