Bunker-only agency
Vessels stemming bunkers at Dar es Salaam appoint Maingate Shipping for the call and, where the trader also nominates us, for the delivery; one desk keeps both clocks and one account closes the stop. Attendance by our partner agent under Maingate's instruction.
Vessels pass Dar es Salaam on the routes that make it a bunkering stop, and the desk's job is to have the fuel alongside when the vessel arrives and the vessel gone when the hoses are off. Dar es Salaam is a sheltered natural harbour entered through a narrow dredged channel on the Tanzanian mainland; anchorage waiting is common when berths are full, and the single point mooring has its own hose-connection and weather rules that shape a tanker call.
Maingate Shipping acts for the receiving vessel, for the supplier or trader, or for both under written roles, and combines the stop with crew, spares, provisions and cash to master so that one anchorage visit does the work of several.
Quantity is protected by attendance: surveyors appointed by the owner at the soundings and sampling, the delivery note witnessed, protests recorded before the barge lets go.
Once the stem is fixed, the desk's work at Dar es Salaam is timing: the port's permission window, the supply vessel's availability and the vessel's arrival aligned so that the transfer starts within hours of the anchor going down. The notification, the position and the supplier's confirmation are all in writing before the vessel arrives.
The master receives the delivery plan, the supplier's contact and the surveyor's name before the vessel is off the port.
Deliveries at Dar es Salaam are by barge at the berth or by supply tanker alongside at the anchorage under the port permission for ship-to-ship transfer. A mooring master, fenders and hoses are arranged where the supply vessel comes alongside, and the transfer is timed to the weather window.
The boarding officer attends the connection, the soundings before and after, the sampling and the signing of the bunker delivery note, and records the times for the owner's account.
Surveyors appointed by the owner attend the delivery and issue their quantity report. Where the vessel's figures and the supplier's figures differ, a letter of protest is issued and recorded before the barge lets go. The desk keeps the samples' custody documentation with the delivery note.
For traders and suppliers appointing the desk, the same attendance serves their side of the delivery, with the roles set out in writing.
A bunker call is the moment to change crew, land spares, take provisions and deliver cash to master, and the desk fits these into the same stop through Julius Nyerere International Airport and by launch. Nothing waits for a separate visit.
The account shows the port charges, the agency fee, the launch hire and the services delivered, each with its receipt, and reconciles against the advance.
Yes. Anchorage waiting is common when berths are full, and the single point mooring has its own hose-connection and weather rules that shape a tanker call.
The owner, manager or operator for the vessel's side; the trader or physical supplier for the delivery; sometimes both on one instruction with the roles set out.
Not compulsory, but the desk recommends an owner's surveyor at every delivery; the cost is small against a quantity dispute.
Port charges and third-party services at cost with receipts, plus an agency fee agreed in the proforma DA before the call.
Nominate Maingate Shipping and the answer comes from Mombasa with a proforma DA attached.
Desks that go with a fuel stop at Dar es Salaam.
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Maingate Shipping Limited · Express Building, Moi Avenue, Mombasa, Kenya · ops@maingateshipping.com · +254 784 622 091