Maersk Oil Trading and Koole Terminals today announced the signing of an agreement to produce IMO 2020-compliant bunker fuel, putting the port of Rotterdam as the centrepiece of the Danish shipping giant’s IMO 2020 bunker plans.
The production will take place at the Petrochemical Industrial Distillation (PID) unit, located at Koole’s Botlek site in the heart of the Port of Rotterdam. The toll distillation deal allows Maersk to produce VLSFO bunker fuel and will enable Maersk to further expand its bunker supply volumes in Europe.
Annual production is expected to cover 5-10% of Maersk’s annual fuel demand.
“The fuel manufacturing process allows Maersk to produce compatible low sulphur fuels that complies with the IMO 2020 sulphur cap implementation, reducing the need to rely on 0.1% price-based gasoil and fuel oil outside the ECA zones. Our activities with Koole will be an important driver in ensuring stable, reliable services for Maersk’s customers during a potentially volatile period for global shipping,” said Niels Henrik Lindegaard, head of Maersk oil trading at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
Last year Maersk and Royal Vopak, a tank storage operator, launched a 0.5 % sulphur fuel bunkering facility also in Rotterdam, Europe’s largest bunkering hub. This initiative will cater for around 20% of Maersk’s global fuel demand.
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