Belgian shipping company Victrol has expanded its fleet with the recent acquisition of a new bunkering barge.
Havana will be operated by Victrol while ownership will remain with Petro Shipping. The barge will serve customers primarily within the Rhine River and the Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam region.
Havana has a length of 135 metres, a beam of 15 metres, and a total cargo capacity of 6,400 tonnes. Key features include a bunkering boom and a mass flow meter (MFM), which will provide an accurate measurement of the volume of fuel transferred to another vessel during bunkering operations.
MFMs have been seeing more widespread use worldwide as these are not as prone to errors compared to traditional tank sounding methods.
The installation of an MFM on Havana is in line with directives by the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges that require MFMs for bunker deliveries on barges of at least 300 GT beginning next year.