Evos bunkering pipeline and jetty in Marsaxlokk damaged following Storm Helios

An oil tanking pipeline in Marsaxlokk and jetty have been damaged due to Storm Helios, which has led to disruptions in bunkering services provided in Malta, however, workarounds have been found.

Evos Malta, a liquid energy and chemical storage company, released a statement that the have temporary suspended operations at their Marsaxlokk terminal due to the company’s jetty facilities having suffered extensive damage and have negatively impacted their operations.

Bunkering is the process of resupplying ships with oil and gas, in other words, refuelling.

Highly informed sources have also informed this newsroom that the Evos Malta terminal pipeline has also been damaged by the storm. Businessnow.mt has seen photographic evidence, however this was not addressed in the company’s statement.

“We are in close contact with all our clients and all relevant authorities to keep them fully updated, and we are working with them to find solutions to the issues caused by the incident,” read the statement by Sonke Stein, managing director of Evos Malta, “we are currently assessing the damage and we will do our utmost to restart operations at the Malta terminal in a fully controlled, safe and responsible manner as soon as reasonably possible.”

International reports indicated that bunkering in Malta has been suspended as a result of the damange, however, Thomas Sullivan, commercial director at Seatrans Shipping Ltd denied those reports and explicitly told this newsroom “it is not” suspended.

According to Hellenic Shipping News, only one of Malta’s bunkering areas is open following the storm, claiming that suppliers in Malta are not taking new offers for bunkering and is expected to limit product loading and bunkering for a week.

This has led to a spike in inquiries for bunkering in Greece since there is no known date for how long it will take to fix the damaged jetty.

Sources familiar with bunkering have assured this newsroom that alternative solutions were found through Delimara, and that while disruptions have occurred workarounds have been found.

Malta has a total of six bunkering areas.

Malta is a well-established bunkering hub within the Mediterranean due to its strategic location, and well-developed ports allowing ships to refuel without major diversions.

Storm Helios also caused severe damage to the Fast Ferry terminal in Valletta, according to reports by Newsbook.