Swiss trader and shipowner Montfort has closed a deal to take over Uniper’s crude processing and marine fuels business in the United Arab Emirates.

The transaction has been carried out in partnership with the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, a member of the ruling family of Dubai. No price was revealed.

Neste to trial its own ‘green’ bunkers on its own tankers
 Read more

Uniper Energy DMCC is the market leader in producing and supplying IMO 2020-compliant low-sulphur fuel oils to the Fujairah market, a key shipping hub.

The business will be renamed Fort Energy Refining Middle East DMCC. Fort Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Montfort.

The company operates a 65,000-barrel-per-day crude processing facility in Fujairah and sells more than 30m barrels of low-sulphur fuel oil to the shipping industry annually.

Montfort and the private office said: “We are pleased to complete this acquisition, a flagship asset that will bring additional expertise and resources to benefit the local production and sale of marine fuels. This investment demonstrates our long-term commitment to this sector.”

Montfort is a global commodity trading and related-asset investment company with a diverse portfolio and services in trading, shipping, retail, upstream and downstream.

It has offices in 10 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Shipping division Montfort Maritime acquired its first vessel, the 52,300-dwt MR tanker Vialli (built 2012), in collaboration with partners last summer.

The vessel is listed in the fleet of Stamford Shipping in Singapore.

Initially, the tanker will operate on time charter with a multinational commodity trading and logistics company.

Later, it will be used for trading across international freight markets.

Martin Marcus Hansen, head of Montfort Maritime, said: “We are also actively looking at acquiring further tankers and other vessels to support the growth of the group’s commodity trading activities.”

In recent months, Montfort has acquired an oil storage terminal in Mozambique and bought new Age Energy in South Africa.

It commercially manages two MRs owned by Cido Shipping and Vosco.