UK oil refiner Prax Group is building up its bunkering operations with the acquisition of a product tanker.
The 7,900-dwt Turkish-built Fortuna I (built 2007) has been acquired from Sweden's Erik Thun.
No price was revealed but VesselsValue assesses the ship as worth $3.81m.
The former Thun Greenwich will join the fleet of Prax's vessel operation company Harvest Energy Marine.
Neither company is listed as owning any ships, but Prax says on its website that it operates a fleet of bunker tankers and barges.
Prax has been contacted for further information on this fleet.
The Fortuna I will operate in north-west Europe.
"The tanker will assist and benefit from the Prax Group's established supply and storage network in the UK and continental Europe, as well as opportunities arising from its operations throughout the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region," Prax said.
The tanker will carry very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and marine gas oil, running between Prax's Lindsey Oil Refinery in Immingham, England, and Prax Terminals Belgium in the port of Zeebrugge.
The ship will also carry out ship-to-ship bunkering at sea.
Long-term growth plan
Geert Boden, general manager of Belgium-based Harvest Energy Marine, said the acquisition forms part of the group's long-term strategic objective of investment, growth and development.
"This purchase demonstrates our proactive approach to the ever-changing needs of our customers in the marine fuels environment and our commitment to build a robust and reliable supply chain to meet those needs," he added.
The company wants to become a leading player globally.
"We are in a great place to respond to the requirements of our customers, both new and existing, in order to continue to deliver innovative solutions to reduce refuelling times at a competitive price, whilst providing customers with their most important resource," Boden said.
UK-headquartered Prax Group is an independent oil refining, storage and retail operation.
In March 2021, Swiss trader and shipowner Trafigura clinched an exclusive crude supply deal after Total sold the Lindsey refinery to Prax.
Prax spent £539m ($750m) on the takeover of the east coast plant.
The deal included the Finaline pipeline, which links the refinery with the Buncefield fuel terminal, and the Killingholme loading terminal.
