Victoria STS conducts first ship-to-ship crude oil transfer off Labuan waters
LABUAN: Labuan-based Victoria STS (Labuan) Sdn Bhd opened a new chapter in cargo handling, carrying out a ship-to-ship (STS) crude oil transfer operation for the first time ever at the Labuan port limit of Victoria Bay yesterday.
Victoria STS, with specialist expertise in offshore handling of liquefied gas and bulk petroleum cargoes, received its first licence on July 31, 2021 to conduct STS operations of oil and liquefied gas products within the Victoria port limit of Labuan.
Its chief executive officer Benjamin Bernard Bijion said the first-ever STS transfer in Labuan waters augured well for the development of the island’s maritime-related activities.
“The ship-to-ship operation involving 580,964 barrels of crude oil from Seria Brunei is being conducted at one of the six approved berths with safe water depths of up to 30 metres, and located next to the marine park of Kuraman Island.
“The operation will take about 20 hours and scheduled for completion by early tomorrow morning (May 11),” he told reporters a er witnessing the STS transfer operation here.
Benjamin said the crude oil that is being transferred from Nissos Tinos Majuro vessel to the 330-metre-long C. Grace vessel is bound for South Korea.
“The ship-to-ship operation is conducted about 10 nautical miles from Labuan, which is considered safe for such operation…and the berth area is fit for a very large crude carrier.
“This is the first time such a huge vessel is calling at the Labuan port limit of Victoria Bay with cargo carrying capacity ranking up to two million tonnes of crude oil.
“In terms of safety, we have the technical expertise to run this operation, we adhere to higher levels of safety standards, without compromising the environment and people,” he said.
Benjamin said Victoria STS is expected to handle another firstever STS transfer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Australia at the end of this month.
The STS operation was in collaboration with Fendercare Marine (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, which followed the signing of a heads of agreement in December last year to provide STS services at the Victoria Bay Port Limit in Labuan.