Monjasa Adds Cargo and Bunkering Tanker in West Africa

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday August 17, 2021

Marine fuel supplier Monjasa has added a cargo and bunkering tanker to its operation in West Africa.

The company sent the newest addition to its fleet, the 25,117 DWT tanker Monjasa Trader, on its way from Rotterdam to Lome on Sunday, the company said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The company bought the vessel from Finnish refiner Neste, and its addition takes the Monjasa owned tanker fleet to 12 vessels.

The firm has taken on the ship to allow it to take better advantage of local VLSFO production, CEO Anders Østergaard said in the statement. The company said West African VLSFO output has increased substantially since the start of 2020.

"We are operating in an extremely competitive commodities market and we need to constantly adapt our fleet logistics to the shifting market dynamics," he said.

"Before the IMO 2020 transition to low-sulphur marine fuels, we used to purchase and transport the fuel from Europe to West Africa using Suezmax tankers.

"Today, we are sourcing much of our fuel oil products from local refineries across West Africa and for this purpose the flexi size and high specifications of Monjasa Trader makes her an ideal vessel for assessing various local loading points."

Monjasa supplied more than 1 million mt of marine fuels in West Africa last year, out of its global total of 4.9 million mt.