Gunvor ships initial oil products from Ust-Luga terminal
ST. PETERSBURG. Jan 31 (Interfax) - OJSC Rosneftbunker, an oil-trader Gunvor company, shipped the first consignment of oil products from a terminal at the Leningrad region port of Ust-Luga on Monday, Deputy Russian Transport Minister Viktor Olersky told the press.
"The receipt at Ust-Luga of the first, albeit in testing mode, tanker symbolizes the launch of a new export route for Russian oil products. I'm confident that it will take on some of the cargo-flow that today move through Baltic ports, primarily though Estonian terminals," Olersky said.
The SKF Neva, belonging to Sovcomflot, was loaded at the terminal.
The federal state unitary enterprise Rosmorport is wrapping up a dredging program to deepen the port at Ust-Luga so it can accommodate the circular movement of vessels. "I think that this September at the latest the depth of up to 17.5 meters will make it possible to receive at the port ships with deadweight of up to 150,000 tonnes," Olersky said Rosneftebunker was founded in 1997 to build an oil-transshipment terminal at Ust-Luga. The sole shareholder was Neftegazinkor, a subsidiary of Zarubezhneft. However, Cyprus-registered Capefar Ltd, which is a Gunvor company, became Rosneftebunker's owner in 2008.