Source: Platts
February 5th 2015
Bunkers International said Thursday it and partner CI Vanoil have launched a 0.1%S fuel oil-based product in Cartagena, Colombia, designed to meet stricter sulfur restrictions that went into effect at the beginning of the year.
The Florida-based bunker supplier is producing the material at a new 8,000 b/d refinery in Cartagena. The product is available by barge in that city and “throughout Colombian ports via truck delivery,“ the company said in a statement.
According to product specifications, the fuel has viscosity of 15-30 CST, 70-degree Celsius flash point and a pour point of -3 degrees Celsius.
From January, ships traveling within 200 miles of North American shores – designated by the International Maritime Organization as “Emission Control Areas” – must use fuel with a maximum sulfur content of 0.1%. Ships can use ECA-compliant MGO or seek alternatives, which many bunker suppliers are now offering.
“This product addresses the needs of shipowners who must meet the new ECA specification but would prefer not to use marine gasoil due to cost and operational issues,” Bunkers International CEO John Canal said. “The fuel is produced from a fuel-oil base, giving it the characteristics of IFO, with the advantage of a 0.100 max sulfur.”
Canal added the “vast majority of the vessels calling Cartagena transit into North American ports,” or within ECA boundaries.