The port is enjoying a massive increase in shipping trade primarily due to the bunkering (re-fuelling) bonanza generated by the introduction of new legislation in 2007 governing the use of low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) in the Channel, North Sea and Baltic areas.

So far this year Falmouth has handled a staggering 16 million tons of shipping ranging from large cruise ships and mammoth tankers to luxury yachts. Since the introduction of the Channel SECA (Sulphur Dioxide Emissions Control Area) last August, Falmouth has seen over 30m tons of shipping pass through its waters.

Figures show that the port is now regularly turning over in excess of three million tons each month. In May Falmouth pilots carried out 425 acts of pilotage equating to 3.3 m tons.

Falmouth Harbour Commissioners reported a record breaking year for the Commission in 2007 with a 45 per cent increase in turnover up to £2.4 million and a 300 per cent increase in profitability. The bunkering operation had a significant impact on revenue.

Many of the tankers and large bulk carriers arriving from the United States are loading just enough LSFO to get them to ports such as Rotterdam or Antwerp where they take on more LSFO. In some cases the ships load a calculated amount of LSFO at Falmouth to use in the Channel, North Sea and Baltic SECA's with spare onboard when the vessel is outward bound and finally exiting the zones.

Market sources indicate the stems (amount of fuel being loaded) are low with many ships loading 100-150 tonnes.

Supplies of LSFO are almost non-existent in South America, South Africa and on the eastern seaboard of the USA. Shipmasters are reporting long waits for fuel at the Canary Islands bunkering facilities at Las Palmas and Tenerife.

Under the MARPOL regulations, the maximum sulphur content of marine fuel oils used onboard ships, regardless of application is 4.5 per cent. This limit is reduced to 1.5 per cent in the Baltic, Channel and North Sea SECA's.