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UAE-headquartered Gulf Petrochem Group has announced that it is now officially offering physical bunker deliveries to clients in the port of Antwerp.

In a statement on Tuesday, Gulf Petrochem explained that it will be offering "a wide portfolio of marine fuel products", including RMG-specification 380 centistoke (cSt) and low-sulphur marine gas oil (MGO LS) with immediate effect. The operation is being managed from the company's existing office in Rotterdam.

Deliveries will be carried out using two time-chartered barges, the Valsinni and the Chardonnay. The 3,000-deadweight-tonne (dwt) Valsinni has a maximum pumping rate of 960 cubic metres per hour, whilst the 1,600-dwt Chardonnay is able to supply up to 840 cubic metres per hour. Both vessels have been exclusively chartered from Dari BV.

The new physical supply operation in Antwerp follows the launch of Gulf Petrochem's Rotterdam service earlier this year. The company also supplies in all UAE ports; West Africa; and India's Gulf of Kutch, Kandla, Sikka and Vadinar.

Commenting on the launch of the company's new Antwerp operation, Neil Lamerton, Global Head of Bunkering at Gulf Petrochem Group, remarked: "Entering the Antwerp market only serves to reaffirm the group's commitment to grow the business off the back of a very successful start in Rotterdam. Further to this, our latest expansion now allows us to supply our customers with consistently high quality products and customer service to match with a fully-fledged, first class ARA service.

"Our operations in Antwerp will be handled from our established office in Rotterdam which also undertakes worldwide back-to-back bunker and cargo trading, as well as housing the group's West Africa desk, supplying the Ports of Tema and Takoradi respectively," Lamerton said.