Minerva sets up new service in Red Sea ports

Marine fuel supplier Minerva Bunkering has introduced a new marine fuels supply service in the Red Sea ports of Yanbu and Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The company’s CEO Tyler Baron said that the new operation will support the increasing number of vessels calling these ports and provide an effective service with minimal deviation for transiting vessels needing bunkers.

The swiss-headquartered company plans to offer very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), and marine gas oil (MGO) with duty-free sales to international customers.

The service will include conducting all supplies with the Advanced Delivery Platform (ADP), providing time savings via digital documentation, and unparalleled transparency into fuel quality and quantity delivered.

As described, the system is enabled by shoreside bulk cargo storage and two of Minerva’s bunker tankers, the M/V Patmos and M/V Halki, both equipped with ADP hardware and Coriolis Mass Flow Metres.

Minerva will be also working in close cooperation with the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia and Aramco Trading Company (ATC).

According to the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia, the new service in Yanbu and Jeddah is aligned with the country’s vision of accelerating growth in the local maritime company.

“We are excited to work with Minerva to expand the scope of bunkering services at the Port of Yanbu to include both domestic and international customers, and this development is in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030”, said ATC’s CEO Ibrahim Al Buainain.

Minerva Bunkering, a 100%-owned subsidiary of Mercuria Energy Group, specialises in marine fuel supply and related service solutions to ships in port and sea. It is said to deliver to over 700 active customers across the shipping sector, including container ships, dry bulk carriers, cruise ships, tankers, and ferries.

In 2020, Minerva and Singapore-based tanker company Hafnia completed the first-ever bunker delivery conducted entirely over Minerva’s ADP.