A fuel supply company in St. Maarten, has enjoyed a record breaking year refueling super yachts in 2012 and the trend has continued into 2013.
Sol AntillesN.V., St. Maarten twice broke its own fuel delivery records in 2012, and then eclipsed (pun intended) those records this month with a delivery of 675 000 litres of fuel to the largest private yacht in the world, the 163 metre Eclipse.
It took several hours and a dedicated crew working around the clock, from 10 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. the following morning. Four of our fuel trucks were deployed for this job, which necessitated quite a few five-mile long trips from the loading gantry at Cole Cay Depot to the port.
This was the second major refuelling of the Eclipse undertaken recently by the supplier on the behalf of the St. Maarten Harbor Holding Company (SMHHC). In December last year, some 500,000 litres of fuel was delivered to this super yacht, while in January 2012, the 116 metre Luna received 498,600 litres.
Commenting on the record breaking achievements, Operations Manager Robert J. James, said the opportunity to conduct large refueling operations for super yachts such as Lunaand Eclipsewas notable:
“It is very significant. The mega-yacht season in this part of the world starts around the beginning of December when the vessels arrive from Europe and the US. They usually remain here until March or April when they return. It is an extremely important part of our business as the volumes tend to be very large. These are prestigious yachts belonging to some of the world’s wealthiest people. Eclipseis the largest private yacht in the world, and Luna is 21st.”
The company maintains a fuelling facility with fixed tanks and pipelines at the port, and other marinas from which most vessels could be fuelled directly.
But some super yachts however are too large to be berthed at any of these, and would dock instead at the cruise ship terminal pier, which meant that fuel had to be delivered by a large fuel truck.