Iraqi state oil marketer Somo has sourced replacement floating storage vessels from the UAE’s Safeen Group to handle fuel oil exports amid a contamination scandal. Safeen, the marine services arm of the Abu Dhabi Ports Group is “providing three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and one medium-range (MR) tanker” according to press reports.
Safeen’s subsidiary Safeen Feeders will utilize the MR tanker to shuttle fuel oil cargoes from the ports of Khor Al-Zubair (KAZ) and Um Qasr South (UQS) further offshore in Iraqi territorial waters where the VLCCs will act as “floating fuel tanks” for ship-to-ship transfers. Safeen expects “monthly delivery capacity” of 750,000 tons (around 160,000 b/d). (CONTINUED - 1042 WORDS)
