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Gazpromneft Marine Bunker LLC, operator of Gazprom Neft's bunkering business, says it has started to supply marine fuel to vessels operated by Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Ltd (STASCO) in the Black Sea region.

The company's bunker vessel, Gazpromneft Omsk [pictured], recently supplied 1,480 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (HFO) to the 115,501-deadweight-tonne (dwt) tanker Iasonas at the port of Tuapse.

The bunker delivery forms part of a supply agreement that Gazpromneft signed with STASCO back in February 2016. The agreement covers the supply of marine fuel in Russia's north-west region with an option to further expand the cooperation.

The first fuel deliveries took place at the port of Primorsk in March. The next stage of cooperation involved a vetting inspection carried out by representative of Shell International Shipping on board the Gazpromneft Omsk, which supplies ships in the Black Sea. The Russian vessel was then given the go-ahead to supply fuel ordered by STASCO.

"The expansion of cooperation with STASCO is a substantial confirmation of appreciation for the quality of our fuels and service by our partners," said Gazpromneft Marine Bunker's CEO Andrei Vasiliev.

"We plan to strengthen our leading position [in] Russia's bunkering market by developing cooperation with major Russian and international shipping companies," he added.

Gazpromneft has recently strengthened its delivery infrastructure in the Black Sea region. The 5,372-dwt Gazpromneft Omsk was acquired last year for deployment in Novorossiysk. It is the third in Gazpromneft Marine Bunker's Black Sea fleet.

Work has also been carried out on the modernization of the company's transshipment facilities in order to expand the zone for loading and unloading, double the tank farm's receiving capacity, and improve energy efficiency and safety.

Earlier this year, the company confirmed that it recorded a rise in marine fuel sales of 22 percent in 2015 throughout the Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Sochi, Taman, Kavkaz and Temryuk, with total sales of 795,000 tonnes.

Overall, Gazpromneft says it sold 3.7 million tonnes of marine fuel in 2015 and that it had a 21 percent share of Russia's bunkering market at the end of December.

According to vessel tracking data, the Iasonas called at the South Korean port of Onsan on 10th August and at the time of writing was in the East China Sea.