Mauritian Supplier in IFO380 First

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday March 7, 2014

Vivo Energy Mauritius today has become the first supplier to offer 380 cSt bunkers in the Southern Western part of the Indian Ocean, the company has told Ship & Bunker.

The product is now available both at berth and at anchorage in Port-Louis, Mauritius.

"To goal of offering 380 cSt is to grow the business, and we noticed that there has been a lot of requests for the grade so we know the demand is there," Eric Hufouye, Marine and Aviation Sales Manager at Vivo Energy Mauritius, explained to Ship & Bunker.

"We are targeting mainly passing by vessels that could easily stop, operating on the  Asia / Australia -  Western Africa / Latin America route."

The supplier, who also offers IFO180 and MGO, says it operates a bunker barge with capacities of 580 metric tonnes (mt) for MFO bunkers and 145 mt for MGO.

"An advantage of Port-Louis is that the port dues are very low, which makes the bunkers very attractive," noted Hufouye.

"There is also not much congestion in the port, and the anchorage is a very protected area - its a safe place to bunker."

Last month the nation's minister of finance and economic development, Charles Gaetan Xavier-Luc Duval, announced plans to triple Mauritius' annual bunker sales which currently stand at 300,000 tonnes per year.