Establishing a World Trade Hub in Port Louis

Bunker One has long been looking to establish a new major bunkering hub East off the coast of Southern Africa. Expanding into new territory will benefit the level of service the global bunker company can provide clients on one of the world’s busiest trading routes and in working together with local partner Vivo Energy Mauritius and in close collaboration with the Mauritian Port Authorities of Port Louis, the stage is set for an environmentally safe and prosperous new hub.

Bunker One has for the past year been hard at work bringing its full strength of operation to the strategically important bunker location Port Louis in Mauritius. Establishing a new bunker hub for the physical supplier will allow Bunker One to stay even closer to clients at every step of their journey.

In close partnership with Vivo Energy, who has been present in Mauritius for more than a decade, Bunker One aims to take on the task of making Port Louis the go-to bunker fuel hub of the South-East African coast. The vision is to provide bunker fuel safely and efficiently to ships and clients with the highest industry standards.

“Bringing Bunker One’s activities to Port Louis is something that we’ve been working towards for a long time. We’ve leased physical storage on land and are looking to establish trading and administration offices, hire office workers and provide traineeships. We’re looking forward to making Port Louis the preferred refuelling hub of the East African coast – and we’re definitely in it for the long haul,” says Peter Zachariassen, CEO of Bunker One.

Bunker One has leased physical tank storage facilities on land in Port Louis, equal to a storage capacity of 20,000 m3 bunker product, on a long-term basis and intends to establish offices and bank connections locally. These commitments underline Bunker One’s stake in Port Louis and the willingness to succeed in the long run.

Partnership and local cooperation ensure longevity Having earlier in 2021 established Bunker One in Djibouti, providing bunkering facilities to the northern passage of Africa, Bunker One has set its sights on Port Louis. This busy location on the global trade route network puts high demands on the bunker suppliers being able to deliver on time and to every measurable quality standard available. While complying with the strictest sets of rules and guidelines set forth both internally and by local and international conventions like the IMO, USA, and EU, Bunker One with its many years of experience in bunker fuel deliveries worldwide, aims to be the ideal partner candidate to the bunker market in Mauritius. But while the establishment of the bunker hub is one thing, environmental protection is something entirely different - and equally important. This responsibility, however, does not rest with any one entity alone.

“The Mauritian authorities have very high safety and operational demands for all bunkering operations across the island. We applaud how the local government takes all environment matters very seriously, which is why we at Bunker One feel comfortable doing business in Port Louis. Adhering to the strict codes of environmental protection and working together with private and public entities with a common set of laws and guidelines in preserving the local flora and fauna is one of our highest priorities and something we can all agree on the importance of,” says Mads Borggaard, Managing Director of Bunker One (Mauritius) Limited, Bunker One’s operational subsidiary present on Mauritius.

In cooperating with local authorities Bunker One has among other things taken part in the development of the Mauritius Oil Spill Contingency plan in close connection and dialogue with the Mauritius Port Authorities (MPA). This deep commitment to safeguarding the environment is also expressed in Bunker One’s membership of the Oil Spill Response initiative, a global and industry-funded cooperative aimed at streamlining safety procedures and putting the right tools in the hands of companies and responders to deal with environmental disasters.

Participating in environmental protection projects, however, is only part of ensuring a stable and safe prospect for the new bunker hub, when aiming to perform bunkering operations in Mauritius. Having local partnerships with providers like Vivo Energy who knows the local challenges and possibilities is essential, enabling Bunker One to aspire towards further development of the hub.

Ready to introduce sustainable fuels In collaboration with our parent company, Bunker Holding, we are already investing heavily in trials, competencies, and capabilities within sustainable marine fuels. Our Group strongly supports the transitions towards low- and zero carbon marine fuels, and the expertise we are currently building is something we want to bring to Mauritius as well.

“Bunker One will from the get-go be offering traditional fuel oil and gasoil and our land storage facilities ensures a steady flow of product enabling our capacity for turning upwards of 20,000 tons of fuel a month. But as soon as the market is mature enough to carry the investment, we are eager to introduce sustainable fuels such as biofuel or methanol to this operation as well” says Mads Borggaard.

“Partnering with Vivo Energy, who not only knows the market, but also knows the people, what to expect, and how to approach the task at hand of establishing a strong fuel supply line here, is valuable. And having the close collaboration with the Mauritius Port Authority to support and challenge our ideas for developing Port Louis as a bunker hub is incredibly valuable. We strongly believe that to succeed, we need to ally ourselves with the best around, and we are proud to partner up with the locally established,” says Mads Borggaard.

Recognising Mauritius’ role as both an ecologically fragile environment and a strategic location on the global trade route network, Bunker One’s experience establishing bunker hubs in an environment of safety and rigorous no oil spill-procedures are essential. Cooperating and providing the highest-level equipment and training in safety responses in case of unlikely events such as accidents and oil spills are key to operating out of Port Louis and something Bunker One is deeply committed to, making the bunker supplier an obvious player of choice for the future of the Mauritian bunker market.

Bunker One and MT Tulip safeguarding and delivering As part of establishing a new bunkering hub in Mauritius, Bunker One is providing the support of the EIA licensed bunker barge MT Tulip, a 148-meter-long chemical tanker with a dead weight tonnage of 15,551 tons enabling not only ex-pipe delivery when moored next to our land positions but also alongside bunkering on anchorage off the coast.

The vessel is rated best in class and comes equipped with a high pumping rate and three separate line-sets accommodating her three types of carried fuel available for clients: HSFO, LSFO, and gas oil without risking any cross-contamination between fuel types.