Iran says bunkering (refueling of ships) in Iranian ports is 5-7 dollars cheaper than the same service in UAE's Fujairah port.

“About 17 shipping companies are sailing to Iranian ports in Persian Gulf and this is a great opportunity to boost bunkering operations. International ships can refuel in Iran's Qeshm port, 120 miles far from Fujairah, to get cheaper fuel,” Iran Shipping Lines chairman Mohammad Saeidi said.

Qeshm port's bunkering facilities with one million tons capacity were inaugurated Jan.26.

It should be noted that marine trade shares 85 percent of Iran's total trade turnover with foreign countries.

Just six countries, including UAE are responsible for almost sixty percent of global bunker sales, according to OPEC's estimations. Iran was not included in this list.

UAE's Fujairah is the world’s second largest bunkering port, with annual sales of around 24 million tons. Iran claims that the about 80 percent of bunkered fuels in Fujairah is of Iranian origin, exported to UAE.

According to the official statistics of Iran's Port and Maritime Organization, the oil, gas condensate, LPG, NGLs and oil products loading from Iranian ports stood at 165.46 million tons in 2016, while the unloading operations reached 23.96 million tons. The loads and unloads indicate 5.213 million tons increase and 4.39 million tons decrease respectively year-on-year.

With inauguration of Qeshm facilities, Iran's annual bunkering capacity stood at 5.4 million tons.

Iran's bunkering service in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman was officially commenced in 2004, with selling 392,000 tons of fuel oil to the passing vessels in the first year. The figure reached 3.345 million tons in 2011, but after Iran got hit with sanctions in 2012, the figure plunged to 1.8 million tons per year, but it has been on the rise since 2013. Iranian officials say the figure reached 4.4 million tons in 2016.

(Source: bunkerportsnews.com)