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Gazpromneft Marine Bunker Ltd, operator of Gazprom Neft's bunkering business, says it supplied more than 32,000 metric tonnes of marine fuel to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd during the 2016 cruise season at the port of St. Petersburg.

Between May and September, Royal Caribbean vessels were supplied with marine fuel on 49 separate occasions. Gazpromneft Marine Bunker confirms that it supplied the cruise operator with around 19,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (HFO) and 13,000 tonnes of distillate fuel during the period.

"Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd is one of our key and most reliable partners," said Andrei Vasiliev, Director General of Gazpromneft Marine Bunker.

Gazpromneft Marine Bunker has been supplying cruise vessels operated by Royal Caribbean since 2008. In 2015, the Russian firm said it delivered almost 40,000 metric tonnes of fuel to Royal Caribbean, carrying out 41 bunkering operations during the cruise season.

In March, Gazpromneft Marine Bunker reported that 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 2015.

Gazpromneft Lubricants LLC, another subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, claimed in April that it is Russia's leading supplier of marine oils by volume with a market share of 26 percent, following a more-than-threefold increase in sales from 2,500 tonnes in 2014 to 8,000 tonnes last year.