Bunker calls
Vessels stemming bunkers at Takoradi 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 Takoradi 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. Takoradi is the western coast of Ghana, the country's older port and the base for its offshore oil fields; rig supply vessels and bulk carriers share the port, so agency here means understanding both the mine's loading programme and the offshore crew rotation.
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.
A bunker call at Takoradi starts with the stem: quantity, grade, supplier and the delivery mode the supplier offers. The desk files the port's notification, applies for the anchorage position or the berth, and fixes the delivery time with the supplier against the vessel's ETA and the weather forecast.
Owners still shopping for fuel are given the names of suppliers and traders serving the port; the desk does not sell fuel and does not take a margin on it.
The transfer at Takoradi follows the port's rules for the mode: ship-to-ship at anchorage with a mooring master and fenders, or barge at berth. Weather sets the window, and the desk moves the delivery rather than force it into a sea state the supplier will not work in.
The boarding officer is on deck for the connection and the soundings and stays until the delivery note is signed.
Quantity at Takoradi is settled on deck, not in correspondence. Surveyors for the vessel attend the soundings and the sampling, the delivery note is compared with the stem before it is signed, and any shortfall is recorded in a letter of protest handed to the barge master before departure.
The desk's boarding officer keeps the times and the documents, and the owner receives them with the surveyor's report.
While the barge pumps, the launch works: joiners and leavers through Takoradi Airport, spares cleared in transit and lifted aboard, fresh provisions, cash to master against the master's signature, a doctor if one is needed. The desk plans these with the bunker delivery so that the vessel leaves Takoradi with everything done.
One DA covers the stop, with the receipts attached to each line.
Yes, at the anchorage by supply tanker under the port's permission for ship-to-ship transfer, subject to the weather.
No. The desk acts as agent for the call and, where appointed, for the supplier's delivery; it does not trade fuel.
Yes. Crew, spares, provisions and cash to master are fitted into the same stop.
The boarding officer attends throughout, and independent surveyors appointed by the owner attend the soundings and sampling and issue the quantity report.
Nominate Maingate Shipping and the answer comes from Mombasa with a proforma DA attached.
Bunker calls sit with port agency and anchorage services on the same desk.
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