Very-low-sulphur fuel oil has been the backbone of bonded bunkering, and Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan won a large share of international vessel calls on it. But under decarbonisation conventions the liners now demand methanol, LNG and eventually ammonia as alternative bunker options, and the regulator has duly lengthened the pilot-port list.

For traders the rule change turns on the word "bonded". To qualify for the same duty and tax treatment as VLSFO, green fuel must run through the same customs bonded ledger and bunker-supply licence as fuel oil — meaning methanol and LNG import, storage and delivery must be re-plugged into the existing bonded tank and bunker-barge network.

Beyond the seven-product resale book, SNSUC's digital warehouse receipt and title-confirmation stack fits green-fuel batch traceability. A parcel of green methanol from a foreign load port into a domestic bonded tank passes through SHA-256-anchored title transfers; banks and customs read the same hash evidence chain to verify ownership, two to three working days faster than a paper bill of lading.

Near term VLSFO stays the cash engine — fuel oil prints 4,373 yuan/tonne (-1.02) on 30 Sept. But the policy window is real: whoever first wires green fuel into the bonded ledger gets the next-round ticket to the bunkering-hub table.