Rosneft Marine UK Ltd., a subsidiary of Russian state-owned oil company OJSC Rosneft, has introduced a new bunker delivery tanker to service the Port of Murmansk in Russia. The Russian-flagged RN Magellan is a 4622 deadweight tonne (dwt) bunker tanker built in 2007. The modern vessel is part of Rosneft Marine's strategy to replace aging bunker tankers from the Soviet era. The company is also examining the possibility of relocating the tanker to St. Petersburg due to its high-end delivery capabilities and environmentally friendly design. Vladimir Brezhnev, Director of Rosneft Marine UK, said: “One of our highest priorities is to ensure that our fleet complies with current industry and environmental standards and the RN Magellan is an excellent testament of this commitment.” The latest addition of RN Magellan to Rosneft Marineʼs bunker tanker fleet follows the companyʼs announcement last month of the delivery of RN Taurus to service the Black Sea Port of Tuapse. Additional vessels will be introduced in the ports of Arckhangelsk and in the Far East in the coming months. “Demand for Russian produced high quality low sulphur fuel has been steadily growing and will only increase with more low sulphur fuel regulation being introduced around the world,” Mr Brezhnev said. “We believe that the way forward is to upgrade our integrated supply chain now to meet this demand while taking the necessary
steps to improve our service quality to customers.”
Rosneft began developing its bunkering business in late 2007 with the establishment of RN-Bunker which has continued to record steady sales volume growth.