Oil and shipping group, Monjasa, acquires the oil and chemical tankers, Monjasa Thunder (19,991 dwt) and Monjasa Shipper (7,991 dwt) for bunkering and cargo operations across West Africa and in the Arabian Gulf. Both tankers will assume operations during this month.

Recently, Monjasa’s Annual Report 2022 showed a 12% volume increase to a total of 6.4m tonnes of marine fuels supplied, and the new vessels are expected to further contribute to Monjasa’s maritime logistics and fleet which today consists of 30 tankers and barges deployed worldwide.

Delivery and dry docking in Riga and Singapore

Monjasa has already taken delivery of Monjasa Thunder (formerly Solando) in Riga, Latvia and Monjasa Shipper (formerly Pearl Mercury) in Singapore, and the two tankers are currently inbound Lomé, Togo and Dubai, UAE respectively.

Following delivery, both tankers were dry docked for renewal survey, name change and subsequent hull blasting and painting according to the Monjasa fleet design.

Group Shipping Director, Torben Maigaard Nielsen says:

“We are pleased to seal these two acquisitions in a challenging tanker market. Both of these vessels are very well-maintained and highly functional additions to our existing fleet of tankers. In fact, as part of Monjasa Thunder’s current voyage to West Africa, we successfully completed the first cargo operation in Rotterdam. Here, we experienced the ship’s high-efficiency potential and in today’s tanker market it is not an easy task to find quality second-hand tonnage.”

Matching supply and demand

Capacity-wise both tankers match the demand for performing ship-to-ship refuelling operations and transporting oil cargoes and thereby further bolstering Monjasa’s end-to-end logistics.

With a carrying capacity of around 20,000 dwt, Monjasa Thunder, is somewhat bigger than Monjasa’s existing West Africa tankers, which usually range between 8,000-13,000 dwt. This size positions her in the flexi tanker segment and thereby built to a high specification for moving cargoes.

Monjasa Shipper was built in 2018 and brings a very high operational standard. She is able to carry and segregate several different fuel grades, which fits well with Monjasa’s emerging biofuel activities in the UAE.

Overall, the Middle East & Africa account for 27% of Monjasa’s total volume of 6.4m tonnes of bunkers.