Fujairah allows bunkering for non-Qatar-flagged vessels to/from Qatar: sources

2017-06-20

Bunkering operations in Fujairah are expected to return to some form of normalcy after it emerged that ships coming from and going to Qatar are allowed to bunker in the Fujairah Offshore Anchorage Area, or FOAA, as long as they were not Qatari-flagged and/or Qatari-owned, various sources told S&P Global Platts Monday.

The sources said this information was received from a Fujairah port official, who appeared to be clarifying confusion surrounding a June 12 circular issued by the Port of Fujairah.

The June 12 circular had eased the blanket ban somewhat by allowing vessels that were co-loading Qatari oil to come to Fujairah as long as they did not subsequently discharge their Qatari cargo in Fujairah.

In the June 12 circular, the Fujairah port said it had decided “not to receive any Qatari flag vessel or owned by Qatari companies or Qatari individuals; not load/unload any cargo of Qatari origin in any port of water of UAE; not to allow ships to load any cargo of UAE origin to State of Qatar.”

However, traders were uncertain if the vessels were able to load bunkers at Fujairah if they had loaded a Qatari cargo previously.

Fujairah is the only multi-purpose port on the eastern seaboard of the UAE and is located approximately 70 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz.

Industry estimates put marine fuel sales in Fujairah at around 12 million-15 million mt in 2016. The port authorities do not provide any official data.

Still, a few sources said Monday that they had not yet started supplying bunkers to non-Qatar-owned and flagged vessels that were going and coming from Qatar as the development was a recent one.

The Fujairah port has issued no formal circular with regard to bunkering on their website since June 12.

Source: Platts

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