Ships calling at India’s Kochi port are now able to procure marine fuel from bunker supplier Matrix Bharat, after it resumed its physical bunkering operations earlier this week, reports said.

The bunkering facilities of Matrix Bharat at Kochi port have gone through an upgrade over a four-month period. The upgrade included an increase in fuel storage capacity to 10,000 metric tonnes (mt), in two storage tanks of 5,000 mt each, from 7,500 mt in three tanks of 2,500 mt each, according to a Platts report citing a company source.

Additionally, the pipeline is equipped with a revamped booster facility for better flow rate, increasing to 120-150 mt per hour from 70 mt per hour for barge loading, Platts reported.

Matrix Bharat is a joint venture between Matrix Marine Fuels, subsidiary of Germany’s oil trading house Mabanaft, and India’s state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation.