The global sulphur cap comes into operation January 1 2020 and is the latest regulation from the International Maritime Organisation to curb the harmful effects of sulphur emissions from maritime vessels. This will have an overall effect on the shipping industry in terms of costs and impact bunkering worldwide. At Safina we can assist visiting ships with bunkering at both Sokhana and Adabiya ports and for vessels passing through the Suez Canal.

Safina can help with bunkering services as part of a wider range of services we offer including dry-docking, seafarer documentation services, transit services through the Suez Canal, cargo and project cargo operations and a wide range of stevedoring services. Our bunkering services will continue to provide high standards for our customers in Egyptian ports and over the next 12 months we will all see a change as the new compliant fuels come on stream. This will not affect our services but we can assist customers who have concerns and want to know more about bunkering in Egypt over the next 12 months.

As and when the new low sulphur fuels arrive in bulk - which could be towards the middle of 2019 – we will be able to supply bunkering services that will be fully compliant with the new IMO regulations. Experts in the oil industry are already suggesting that ships need to have their tanks cleaned from June 2019 onwards. Failure to do so could leave deposits of high sulphur in the tanks and make the ships non-compliant. With the threats of Port State Control detentions and insurance claims being voided, it seems a small price to pay to keep sailing next year.

Safina has an excellent track record in bunkering services but we are flexible enough to work with partners in ensuring that ship agency service request is met when in an Egyptian port. Our website (https://www.safina-eg.com/) has full details of our complete range of services.