Asia/Pacific News
Lanka Marine Services Relaunches VLSFO Bunker Supply at Hambantota
Lanka Marine Services (Pvt) Limited (LMS) has relaunched supply of 0.5% sulfur VLSFO at Port Hambantota, Sri Lanka.
The move follows the launch of wholesale deliveries of bunker fuel to Sri Lanka by Chinese state energy company Sinopec.
"LMS expects to place its bunker barge MT Kumana at the port of Hambantota and supply to vessels that are passing by in the ISR (International Shipping Route)," a spokesperson for LMS told Ship & Bunker via email.
"Product is stored at the HIPG (Hambantota International Port of Group (Pvt) Ltd) terminal. The cargo imports are done by Sinopec Sri Lanka with whom LMS has entered into a strategic partnership."
As Ship & Bunker reported Tuesday, LMS was Sinopec's first fuel buyer for Hambantota and the first bunkering operation has already been completed.
"The first supply of IMO Compliant fuel, 1,500 mt of Marine Fuel 0.5%S was delivered to a crude oil tanker which is registered in Marshall Islands," the spoksperson added.
LMS is already a major bunker supplier in Sri Lanka, enjoying the majority market share via its principal supply location at Colombo Port.
The supplier owns two bunker barges, MT Nilwala and MT Mahaweli, and operates the third, MT Kumana, under time charter.
Future Bunker Hub?
Located at the south-eastern tip of Sri Lanka, Hambantota Port lies just 8-12 nautical miles from the major East-West shipping route.
As such it has long been seen as a potential location for a major bunkering hub, but to date bunker fuel availability at the port has been limited to a short-lived period in 2015.
Expectations for Hambantota have advanced significantly since then following a number of key developments: In 2017 control of the port was handed to China Merchants Port Holdings (HIPG) and in 2019 Oil and gas giant Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, was awarded control of bunkering projects at Hambantota.
At the time HIPG CEO, Ray Ren, said SINOPEC's involvement would help bring the port "closer to our goal of establishing Hambantota Port as a bunkering hub in South Asia."
Ren also estimated the port's bunker sales volume to surpass 1 million mt annually in the space of five years.
