UAE bans bunker supplier over illegal bunkering

In response to serious breaches of maritime regulations, the UAE Federal Maritime Administration (FMA) has banned a Dubai-based bunker supplier from operating within its waters and ports after an investigation revealed the supplier had engaged in unlawful bunkering practices.

As disclosed, OCEANEXL FZC, the bunker supplier at the center of the investigation, was banned from engaging in UAE waters after it was found that the company had supplied 700 tons of high-sulfur fuel from its chartered vessel at the Khorfakkan port anchorage.

The vessel in question was not equipped with the necessary exhaust gas cleaning systems, otherwise known as scrubbers, without which vessels emit harmful sulfur oxides (SOx) into the atmosphere, contributing to air pollution as well as acid rain.

Without scrubbers, OCEANEXL FZC’s illegal and unsafe bunkering operation, thus, raised concerns about environmental protection in the region.

The UAE FMA —represented by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure—has implemented strict measures for vessels supplying high-sulfur fuel. All bunker ships, prior to conducting supply operations within UAE waters and ports, are required to review the International Air Pollution Prevention Certificate (IAPP) of the receiving ship and retain a copy to ensure it complies with the requirements high-sulfur fuel consumption through the use of scrubbers.

OCEANEXL FZC had misled the UAE’s FMA by concealing the actual fuel type supplied during the transaction, initially claiming it to be a cargo ship-to-ship operation and not bunkering. In addition, OCEANEXL FZX was operating without the required navigation license from the administration.

Failure to comply with the UAE FMA was revealed during the official investigation of the electronic correspondence between OCEANEXL FZC and the receiving ship, confirming prior arrangements were in place for the bunkering operation.

A bunker delivery note (BDN) issued by OCEANEXL FZC contradicted the company’s earlier claim that the BDN had never been issued in the first place. In reality, it had been falsified to reflect that the supplied fuel was very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO).

According to the UAE Federal Maritime Administration, such practices endanger not just the safety of the ships, but also the seafarers and ultimately the marine ecological system.

Furthermore, OCEANEXL FZC’s actions are said to contravene a number of applicable national laws and international conventions.

As informed, the UAE Federal Maritime Administration also took the decision to ban the Palau-flagged oil product tanker, DSG—chartered by OCEANEXL FZC and owned by DSG shipping—within the UAE waters and ports under any ownership.

The UAE Maritime Administration has said that it has a ‘zero-tolerance policy’ 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.

To remind, in January 2024, the UAE FMA banned Cameroon-flagged ships from calling UAE waters and ports.

Though reasons as to why the restriction was enforced were not fully revealed, it was assumed that the decision was linked with Cameroon’s reputation as a haven for Russia’s so-called ‘ghost fleet’.