EMEA News
Mozambique's Maputo Port Opens Bunkering Operations
The Port of Maputo has announced that, effective November 1, it now offers bunkering services, providing fuel and oil to ships at the port and at its outer anchorage.
The new services are said to have been enabled through a contract between the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) and a joint venture headed by Petromoc Bunkering Limitada (Petromoc Bunkering), which was signed on October 28.
"Petromoc is proud to participate to the development of the Port of Maputo and offer its customers a 1st class bunkering service, which will increase the number of vessels calling Mozambican ports and enhance tax revenues," said Fernando Obed Uache, Chairman of Petromoc Bunkering and CEO of Petromoc S.A.
"This new activity also completes the portfolio of Petromoc at the service of the country."
The port's new provision of bunkering is said to be aligned with the port's strategic plan to become a more competitive port within the region, a plan that will also see the deepening of the port's access channel to allow ships of 120,000 DWT to call Maputo.
"It definitely is an added value to the Port of Maputo and provides further motivation for vessels to make a single call to load cargo and bunker at the same time," said Osório Lucas, CEO of MPDC.
"The ongoing dredging activity has already made use of the new bunkering services, so we can affirm it is already a successful venture that will allow cost-saving for the shipping lines."
Last month, Geneva-based Augusta Energy SA (Augusta Energy) told Ship & Bunker that it has launched a new physical bunker supply operation in the Mozambique Channel.
