Monjasa swaps floating storage in shifting West Africa product market

Global oil & shipping group, Monjasa, has agreed terms for the Crude Oil Tanker, SKS Dokka (119,456-dwt), as new floating storage for its West Africa operations. At the same time, Monjasa data reveals the significant shift in product demand across the region following one year of IMO 2020 regulations in place.

Today, West Africa has the fastest growing population of any region in the world. In a global trade context and considering that approximately 90% of all goods are being transported by sea, this development puts great demands on the region’s maritime logistics.

Monjasa has experienced how the IMO 2020 regulations have significantly changed product demand from the Gulf of Guinea to Namibia in south.

By applying modern floating storages as part of the refuelling solutions, Monjasa has enabled steady and efficient supply of more than 10m tonnes of marine fuels across West Africa in the period 2010-2020.

New first-class tanker in a challenging region

On 16 December 2020, SKS Dokka replaced its sister vessel, SKS Darent, to become the new focal point of Monjasa’s maritime operations in West Africa. The 2010-built and 250m in length tanker is now positioned off Lomé, Togo and already in full operation. To ensure safe and flexible cargo handling, the SKS Dokka comes with double valve segregations and is equipped with deepwell pumps for each individual tank.

SKS Dokka specifications

  • Year built: 2010
  • Dwt: 119,456
  • Flag: Norway
  • LOA: 250m

By operating its own fleet of tankers, Monjasa can adapt and match the shifting buying behaviour of shipowners and operators. Most recently, Monjasa has experienced how the IMO 2020 regulations have significantly changed product demand from the Gulf of Guinea to Namibia in south.

Significant shift in fuel grade demand

Fast approaching one year of IMO 2020 low-sulphur regulations in place, Monjasa now releases own data on how the transition has impacted the West Africa marine fuels market.

While High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO) accounted for 74% of Monjasa’s supplied products in 2019, this number has come down to 19% in 2020. At the same time, the volume share of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) soared from 5% to 59%.

Looking at distillate fuel products, Marine Gas Oil (MGO) supply experienced a slight increase from 21% to 22% of Monjasa’s total supply volume in West Africa.

Monjasa currently operates a fleet of approximately 10 tankers in West Africa and has local offices in Angola and Namibia. In total, Monjasa supplied 1.4m tonnes of marine fuels across West Africa in 2019.

For more information on Monjasa’s maritime operations in West Africa,
please contact our office in Dubai.