Splash247: BGN launches US Gulf bunkering arm

Published by Splash247

Energy trader BGN has launched its first US retail bunkering operation, supplying conventional marine fuels from Houston across the Gulf Coast.

The new business will offer high sulphur fuel oil, very low sulphur fuel oil and marine gasoil to shipowners calling at ports across the region.

BGN will initially use the operation to supply its owned and chartered LPG fleet of around 40 vessels, while also targeting third-party customers. No investment figure, expected sales volumes or individual supply locations were disclosed.

The trader has partnered with US marine transportation operator Centerline Logistics and chartered two bunker barges, the Jackson Eades and MGI 2100, to support the launch.

Centerline operates a 123-vessel fleet across the US Gulf, east and west coasts, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Its fleet includes bunker and terminal barges with total liquid carrying capacity of around 3m barrels.

The move takes BGN beyond wholesale fuel trading and into direct physical supply. The company said its fuel oil business handles an average of around 4m tonnes annually across bunker and industrial markets.

BGN has been building up the shipping side of its US LPG trading operation. The company ordered six dual-fuel VLGCs at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries earlier this year, taking its owned LPG fleet to 19 vessels. The latest pair of 93,000 cu m ships is due in 2029.

The trader also entered LNG shipping this year through a deal with Capital Clean Energy Carriers. A BGN affiliate is taking a 49% stake in the 2023-built LNG carrier Amore Mio I, which will start a 10-year charter to BGN when the joint venture takes ownership in early 2027.