Bunkering Service, “Strategic” in Las Palmas

The board of directors of the Port Authority of Las Palmas will declare the bunkering supply “strategic” in its meeting next Monday, as it has managed to become one of the main businesses served by four companies –Peninsula, Oryx, Minerva, and CEPSA– and so far this year has supplied 1.5 million tons (+11.5%).

Bunkering makes the port of Las Palmas the first gas station in the Atlantic and is very close to the port of Algeciras. Regarding the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it is neither present nor expected in this business, far below not only Las Palmas but also its own possibilities, with only one ship chartered by CEPSA. Even when some clients demand it, the ships operating for the aforementioned companies in Las Palmas move to Tenerife, although that possibility is decreasing, as it is about avoiding additional costs.

Luis Ibarra, the president of Ports of Las Palmas, is a great strategist and does his job well. The declaration of “strategic” activity for the bunkering service is not only about maintaining a dominant position but is also a link in his increasingly advanced project for the supply of other alternative fuels, starting with liquefied natural gas.

Photo: Nicolás Arocha for puentedemando.com