Petrobras Bunkering has notified customers of planned maintenance shutdowns affecting marine fuel pipelines at the Port of Itaqui in Brazil, with disruptions to the delivery of bunkers set to span several months.

According to a customer notice issued by the Brazilian state energy company, very-low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) pipeline maintenance is scheduled to run from 18 August to 7 September — a period of approximately 20 days, whilst the marine gas oil (MGO) pipeline shutdown is considerably longer, with maintenance planned from 29 July to 9 November, representing around 103 days of disruption.

Petrobras explained that the maintenance work will affect both the supply and receipt of the products across all berths at the port, and that sales of the affected products will be suspended for the duration of each respective maintenance window.

The Port of Itaqui, located in the state of Maranhão in northeastern Brazil, serves as a key bunkering point for vessels operating along Brazil’s northern and northeastern coastline.

Petrobras noted that it is “committed to minimising any inconvenience” to customers during the maintenance periods.