Bunker-only agency
A fuel stop at Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo, on one instruction: permission, position, barge, surveyor, delivery note and departure, with the crew change and the spares done by the same launch. Partner agent alongside, Mombasa desk coordinating.
Vessels pass Pointe-Noire 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. Pointe-Noire is the Atlantic coast of the Republic of the Congo, the country's only deep-water port and its oil capital; offshore supply vessels, crew boats and anchor handlers make up much of the traffic, and their crew and spares needs run on a different clock from cargo ships.
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 Pointe-Noire 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.
At Pointe-Noire the supply tanker comes alongside at the anchorage under the port permission for ship-to-ship transfer, with a mooring master, fenders and hoses provided for the operation, or a barge delivers at the berth. The desk fixes the mode with the supplier, obtains the permission and books the equipment.
Connection, opening soundings, pumping, closing soundings and disconnection are attended and timed by the boarding officer, so that the account shows what happened.
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.
The desk treats a bunker call at Pointe-Noire as an anchorage visit with a purpose, and uses it: crew changes via Agostinho Neto International Airport, spares in transit, provisions, cash and medical attention all go out by the same launch or alongside the same berth.
Every service is a line in the account with its receipt, and the final DA reconciles against the advance within the agreed days.
Yes. Offshore supply vessels, crew boats and anchor handlers make up much of the traffic, and their crew and spares needs run on a different clock from cargo ships.
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.
One instruction, one account, one contact for the master and one for the principal.
Desks that go with a fuel stop at Pointe-Noire.
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Maingate Shipping Limited · Express Building, Moi Avenue, Mombasa, Kenya · ops@maingateshipping.com · +254 784 622 091