The coronavirus pandemic has apparently hurt the quality of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) while helping avert a supply crunch, bunker experts have suggested.

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) data has revealed a deterioration in fuel quality, with the percentage of off-specification samples rising to 5.5% in June from 4% in April.

Europe was the worst-performing region: 13.5% of test samples there did not meet required standards in June.