Danish bunker company Monjasa has acquired full ownership of five bunker tankers just months ahead of the IMO’s 2020 implementation date.
The units in question are the 2009-built Aarhus, Delhi and Amsterdam, the 2010-built Accra and the 12,222 dwt Annie, built in 2004. Four of the tankers have previously been on bareboat charter by the company.
The first two units were delivered to Monjasa in Dubai on August 15, while the remaining tankers are scheduled for delivery during the coming months.
With the tankers, featuring a total of 37,500 dwt, the company extends ownership of the supply chain across markets in the Arabian Gulf, West Africa and the Panama Canal.
“Last year, we increased our total supply volume by 17% to 4.1 million tonnes of marine fuel and we continue to see a growing demand for our services. This is also part of the reason we are now purchasing five quality tankers,” Anders Østergaard, Group CEO, said.
Monjasa secured the tonnage for its long-term bunker operations ahead of the expected flexibility and storage challenges due to the introduction of the new very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) products.
“We are on the brink of bringing new low-sulphur fuel products to the market and the entire industry needs to adapt to a new multiple products demand.
“These five tankers can segregate between two and six different types of oil products onboard and this contributes to making them an attractive investment for us. Coupled with an average age of 10 years the tankers are fully-furnished to handle the leap in quality required to perform bunker operations come 2020,” Østergaard added.
Monjasa controls some 20 tankers globally, 10 of which are fully owned.