A pilot and a tugboat have been brought to the Maldives in preparation for the launch of international bunkering services in the northern region.
The government is making final preparations for the service's commencement on the 20th of this month. According to the government, the office building for the bunkering service is expected to be completed by August 15.
Additionally, an announcement has also been made seeking a party to develop a yacht marina in HA Ihavandhoo.
Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed had earlier said that between 300 to 400 commercial vessels pass through the northern Maldives. If bunkering services are provided to even one percent of these vessels, it could contribute over US$ 400 million to the country's GDP in the first year alone. Saeed said the project is aimed at ending the economy's reliance on a single industry, he said.
In March, a term agreement was signed between the State Trading Organization (STO) and Vitol Group, one of the world's largest energy companies, to provide these bunkering services in Ihavandhippolhu under the Maldives Economic Gateway project. Vitol, with offices in 40 countries, supplies 12 million tonnes of oil annually as bunker fuel and is the largest physical bunker supplier in the Middle East and a major supplier of bio-marine fuel in Singapore.
