Artificial island would offer deep berths for largest crude carriers
Fujairah is studying a plan to develop an offshore island built from sand and rock blasted from the mountains that surround the port.
But unlike Dubai's artificial island construction boom of the last decade, this is about attracting tankers, not tourists.
It comes as the port develops infrastructure needed to become a crude export hub in addition to being an oil storage and bunkering centre.
Very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are supertankers capable of carrying more than 150,000 tonnes of cargo and require deep berths when fully loaded. One option to handle more of these ships in Fujairah and so boost crude traffic from the port would be to build an island offshore where the sea is deeper.
Another option is to install an underwater pipe to transport the crude to what is known as a single- point mooring (SPM).
"We are approaching customers to see if there is demand," said Captain Moosa Murad, the general manager of the Port of Fujairah. "Maybe an SPM, maybe a sea island. It is under study."
The port operates seven oil berths running as deep as 18 metres and is building another two.
Crude oil moving from Habshan in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah through the under-construction Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline will also be transported to VLCCs via three SPMs. Each will have the capacity to transfer some 80,000 barrels of oil per hour to ships in the harbour.
* Sean Cronin
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