Cargo loading and bunker delivery operations have restarted in the UAE port of Fujairah, the Middle East's main storage and bunkering centre. They were suspended on 2 October ahead of tropical storm Shaheen.
"Some barges resumed deliveries of bunker fuel to vessels earlier in the afternoon," a bunker supplier said. "It was initially done on an 'all going well, weather permitting' (AGW WP) basis."
Other suppliers and traders later reported more deliveries taking place, although the seas remain rough.
The port was not closed completely as Shaheen largely bypassed Fujairah, making landfall in Oman. It is now moving inland through Saudi Arabia, according to weather reports. Vessel movements at Oman's Sohar port have been suspended since 2 October. The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said Shaheen made landfall close to Sohar, which is the site of a 198,000 b/d capacity refinery.
Crude export loadings at Oman's Mina al-Fahal terminal were suspended temporarily yesterday "as a precaution", according to sources at the energy ministry, and should resume later today.
