EMEA News
Aegean: ARA Region Could End Up With No Bunker Suppliers, Just Traders
Aegean NWE says delays in loading its fuel oil barges in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area have hurt its business, Platts reports.
"I cannot supply my sea-going vessels. I just do not have the product," said Aegean NWE Managing Director Tony Vertommen.
"After a while you will see an ARA market with no [bunker] suppliers and instead just dominated by traders."
The company is seeking cooperation from other fuel oil barge operators to address loading delays that it says have been a problem for more than a year.
"We fully understand and respect [suppliers'] operational problems but when these become standard practice then I believe we need to work together in finding a solution," Vertommen said in an email to other suppliers.
Others in the market told Platts they were less concerned about the delays.
"These things happen very often to everyone," said a trader with an oil trading house.
"Sometimes [a deal] does not go as you expect; you may have off-spec material or may be dependent on other parties in a chain."
Platts reported last month that barge loading in ARA was being hampered by low water, strikes, and delays.
