EMEA News
Bunker Supplier Banned in UAE Over HSFO Supply to Ship Without Scrubber
A bunker firm has been banned from supplying marine fuels in the UAE over an alleged delivery of HSFO to a ship without a scrubber.
OceanEXL FZC has been banned from trading bunkers and supplying fuel to ships in the UAE, the country's Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said in a circular on Friday.
The firm allegedly supplied 700 mt of HSFO to a ship without a scrubber at Khor Fakkan.
Other firms in the country may also be under investigation, a local source told Ship & Bunker.
"OCEANEXL FZC provided false information on the nature of this operation and claimed that it was a cargo ship-to-ship operation and not a bunker operation," the ministry said.
"The investigations of the Maritime Administration proved that the information provided by the management of OCEANEXL FZC was not accurate while the receiving ship confirmed that it was bunkering operations, and this was verified by the investigation team while reviewing the electronic correspondence between OCEANEXL FZC and the receiving ship, which confirmed prior arrangements were in place for the bunkering operation.
"The BDN has also been falsified to reflect that the supplied fuel was VLSFO."
The delivery vessel DSG, chartered by OceanEXL, has also been banned from operating in the UAE.
"The UAE Maritime Administration reminds all the companies and the personnel involved in the activities of bunker trading and supplying fuel to ships that zero-tolerance policy is adopted when it comes to the companies, personnel, or vessels involved in manipulating the operations of bunkering in terms of the quality and quantity of fuel, tampering with the fuel samples, falsifying Bunker Delivery Note, or providing inaccurate information to the Maritime Administration or Port Authorities about the nature of the operations conducted in order to preserve the safety of ships and seafarers on board and the standard of the bunkering operations in the UAE," the ministry said.
"The companies involved in bunkering activities must comply with the legislation, regulations, decisions, and circulars in force to avoid banning their activities in the UAE and enforcing other legal measures.
"From the date of this circular, all bunker ships prior to conducting the supply of high-sulphur fuel in the UAE waters and ports must review the International Air Pollution Prevention Certificate (IAPP) of the receiving ship and retain a copy of the certificate, to ensure that it meets the requirements of high-sulphur fuel consumption by having Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems."
OceanEXL launched its bunkering division in January 2023, and announced an expansion to Khor Fakkan in August of this year.
