Cepsa has announced that it has become the first supplier of
RMK 500 marine fuel at the port of
Barcelona, Spain.
The Spanish firm is extending the supply of RMK 500 to the Mediterranean after making it available to clients in the Strait of Gibraltar ports of
Algeciras and
Gibraltar, where it is also the only supplier of the fuel.
Cepsa has also extended the supply capacity of its fuel delivery service in Barcelona with the addition of the
Spabunker 21.
RMK 500 is produced by Cepsa at its refinery in Gibraltar-San Roque and is similar to IFO 380, with a 3.5 percent sulphur content; however, it also has specific properties, such as its
greater density and
viscosity - and
lower cost.
In Algeciras, Cepsa says it delivered
more than one million tonnes of RMK 500 in 2016, whilst in Gibraltar the supplier
started to make it available to customers in June 2017.
In addition to RMK 500 in Barcelona, Cepsa also supplies LSFO380, HSFO380, MGO and intermediate IFOs.
Deliveries are performed by the Spabunker 41, which has the capacity to transport up to
2,600 metric tonnes of fuel and
850 tonnes of MGO.
The newly added vessel, the
Spabunker 21, has a fuel capacity of 3,600 tonnes and is able to store up to 850 tonnes of MGO.
In total, Cepsa claims to have carried out
more than 1,100 operations at the Catalan port so far this year, amounting to more than
208,000 tonnes supplied mainly to cruise ships, ferries, container ships and tankers.
Cepsa says the new RMK 500 service in Barcelona is targeted towards "large ships, especially container ships, making long sea crossings".
Image: Ferries berthed alongside the World Trade Center in Barcelona.
