BP Marine is to close its bunkering operation in Cyprus due to a dearth of shipping business at the island’s ports, the company said.
Bunkering is the use of a ship to refuel other vessels that anchor offshore on their way to other destinations, a form of mobile fuel station.
But BP Marine said sales in Cyprus failed to deliver on expectations and that its bunkering vessel the Sea Dweller, was being transferred to the North Sea.
A statement from the company said BP Marine first moved into the Cyprus marine fuels market in February 2005 in anticipation of increased shipping activity following the country’s entry to the EU the previous year.
“This, however, did not materialise and the bunkering market has in fact shrunk as economies and trade continued to be adversely affected by ongoing regional conflicts,” it said.
The company said despite its withdrawal from Cyprus, it would continue to expand its overall operations and would be entering the burgeoning bunkering market in Panama.
Parris Beverly, managing director of BP Marine Fuels, says: “Over the course of the last three years, we have made every effort to stimulate business in Cyprus, but ultimately there has been no significant change. Therefore, in line with BP Marine’s strategy of only operating in ports with potential for significant growth, we have taken the decision to withdraw.”
Parris said BP Marine was currently working with its Cyprus customers to discuss the decision and to identify alternative bunkering solutions.
Thomas Kazakos, the general-secretary of the Cyprus Shipping Council (CSC), said yesterday the bunkering business has not been having it easy lately, mainly due to increased port fees.
He said bunkering was a small specialised sector of the shipping industry but an important one to the island. He termed it an additional attraction for ships.
“If you have a cargo ship travelling from A to Z and Cyprus is in between and there is no way to refuel, you would have to go to another country to do that,” he said.
Kazakos said two or three bunkering companies were members of the CSC and it had become increasingly difficult for them to operate from Cyprus, and also less profitable.
Although the Turkish ban on Cyprus-related shipping traffic was a factor, Kazakos said the cost of operating from the island was a bigger factor.
He said increases in the price of fuel and operating costs had made profit margins smaller.
