TFG Marine to start first Mideast bunker fuel supply at Oman's SOHAR port

SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Marine fuel supplier TFG Marine, majority-owned by commodities trader Trafigura, has entered into an agreement with Oman's SOHAR Port and Freezone to set up its first Middle Eastern bunker fuel supply, the companies said in a statement late Tuesday.

Situated in Oman near the Strait of Hormuz and facing the Arabian Sea, the SOHAR Port and Freezone is located on one of the world's key shipping routes, connecting the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent with the rest of the world.

TFG Marine plans to start bunker deliveries once its first bunker vessel arrives at the port, in the coming months, the company said.

The vessel will be fitted with a mass flow meter that is calibrated to meet the latest international standards, as mandated by SOHAR Port.

More than 3,000 vessels of all sizes currently call at SOHAR port each year, the companies said, and the number is expected to rise as TFG refuels its global fleet of ships.

"This is an ideal location for TFG to establish its first bunker fuel supply operation in the Middle East," said Kenneth Dam, TFG Marine's global head of bunkering.

There is potential for SOHAR Port to "quickly become a major new physical bunkering procurement location in the Middle East" for the world's shipping fleet, he added.

TFG, a joint venture involving Trafigura, Frontline and Golden Ocean, manages a global fleet of more than 700 owned and chartered vessels, as well as third-party vessels.

The company told Reuters in an interview last year that it plans to expand operations in several existing and new markets.

(Reporting by Jeslyn Lerh; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)