Peninsula launches Fujairah bunker supply operation

Gibraltar-based marine fuel supplier and trading firm Peninsula is launching a physical bunker supply operation at Fujairah in the UAE, the world's third-largest bunkering centre.

Peninsula said it will manage the bunkering operation through its newly-opened Dubai office. It will initially use the 8,000 deadweight (dwt) barge Hercules Star for the bunker deliveries and plans to add another barge in the coming weeks. Peninsula will supply conventional bunker fuels but it aims to shift to environmentally cleaner fuels in the future.

"We look forward to partnering with authorities in developing the region's alternative fuels roadmap," chief executive John Bassadone said.

Peninsula is already a major bunker supplier in a number of ports including Singapore, Gibraltar, Algeciras, Barcelona, the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area, the Canary Islands, Malta, Panama, the US Gulf coast and Los Angeles. The company received a bunker supply licence to operate in Egypt in February.

Peninsula's addition to the list of bunker sellers in Fujairah is likely to stiffen already intense competition among suppliers there, according to traders. "Peninsula is a major player in the global market and their supply will put pressure on bunker prices here," said a Fujairah-based supply trader.

By Elshan Aliyev