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Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. has announced that it has taken delivery of the Santorini, a 4,600 dwt double-hull bunkering tanker newbuild from Fujian Southeast Shipyard in China.

The company says it intends to employ this new vessel in Gibraltar, replacing the Aegean Rose, which will be redeployed to Piraeus.

Including the Santorini, Aegean currently boasts a total bunker delivery fleet of 29, composed of 27 bunkering tankers and two barges.

The company expects to take delivery of 23 remaining double-hull tanker newbuilds over the next two years, which will expand its total bunker delivery fleet to 52.

In July, Aegean acquired three double-hull bunkering tankers which the company said would be deployed to Aegean's service center in Piraeus. Included in this acquisition were the Aegean III, a 1990-built 2,972 dwt double-hull bunkering tanker, the Aegean VIII, a 1990-built 2,972 dwt double- hull bunkering tanker, and the Aegean XII, a 1979-built 3,660 dwt double-hull bunkering tanker.

In the same month Aegean also took delivery of the Mykonos, a 4,600dwt double-hull new-build bunker tanker from the Fujian Southeast Shipyard. The vessel was deployed to Aegean's Gibraltar service center and took the total number of vessels operating in this market to five.

Speaking about the company's latest newly-built vessel, E. Nikolas Tavlarios, President, said "With the delivery of our eighth newbuild from Fujian Southeast Shipyard, Aegean has once again expanded its modern, high-quality bunkering fleet. By further increasing our delivery capacity, we have strengthened our position to take advantage of the positive fundamentals in the global marine fuel industry and drive future sales volume growth."