GP Global, a leading player in the oil industry, has marked a milestone with the delivery of the first International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2020 compliant bunker load of low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) in the Port of Fujairah, UAE.
The global conglomerate made its maiden delivery via its 6,000-tonner bunker barge at Fujairah, which will help serve the Port of Fujairah as well as adjoining ports, enabling the UAE to meet the IMO directive.
Anil Keswani, head of Bunkering, East of Suez at GP Global Group said: “We are thankful to the authorities of the Port of Fujairah and our partners for their continued trust in us, which has enabled us to undertake the first bunkering of LSFO, just in time as the IMO 2020 takes effect next year. We are committed to supporting our partners and clients in meeting specifications, which will contribute a long way to securing a cleaner marine environment.”
GP Global’s GPB1 is capable of delivering a comprehensive suite of residual and distillate marine fuels, including Low-Sulphur Marine Gasoil (LSMGO), LSFO, 180 CST and 380 CST at the UAE ports. The company has three more barges at Fujairah of which the largest – GBP2 – will be dedicated exclusively for LSFO to meet the growing requirements in the region, expected from mid-October.
The achievement by GP Global follows the announcement by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) regarding the specification for IMO 2020 grade bunkers. The publicly available specification describes how the current ISO 8217 standard can be applied for the new fuels, with technical advice for kinematic viscosity, cold flow properties, stability and ignition characteristics, among others.
