Americas News
Jamaica: Bunker Sector Upbeat on Future Prospects
Bunker players in Jamaica say the Caribbean island's geographical position is a good reason to feel positive about the sector's future.
Three companies -- Scott Petroleum, West Indies Petroleum (WIP) and Bunker One (Jamaica) -- operate bunker services out of Jamaica's main port of Kingston.
"Jamaica's position in the Caribbean has been ideal," Donald Barrant, operations manager at Maritime and Transport Services Limited, the shipping agent for Scott Petroleum, told local news provider the Jamaican Gleaner
"We are in the main shipping lane leading to the Panama Canal, which from a trade perspective has many advantages.
"We have seen an increase in bunkering operations, even in the framework of Covid-19."
On Covid-19, Captain Michael Campbell, operations manager at Scott Petroleum, said that the pandemic has thrown up challenges.
"Covid-19 has created quite a few challenges and added to the complexities of the operations," Campbell was quoted as saying.
"The ship owner's surveyor, vessel's chief engineer charterers and bunker supplier must agree to Covid-19 protocols, which include policies regarding physical contact before bunker operations commence."
According to Leon Campbell, general manager at Lannaman and Morris Shipping Limited, who represents WIP, "Bunkering has brought a lot of business to Kingston."
And given its local source of supply and overall professionalism, that trajectory looks set to continue.
