Oman Oil and TFG Marine Establish Bunker Fuel Joint Venture
Oman Oil Marketing Company (OOMCO) and TFG Marine, the leading international marine fuel joint venture founded by Trafigura, Frontline and Golden Ocean, have established a bunker fuel joint venture to supply vessels visiting Oman’s ports of Duqm, Muscat and Sohar. TFG-OOMCO LLC, incorporated in Oman, will combine the local knowledge of OOMCO with the international footprint, sourcing of all grades of marine fuels, infrastructure and logistics capability of TFG Marine, to offer customers a reliable and transparent bunkering provider in the Arabian Gulf. As stated by Mr. Tarik Al Junaidi, the CEO OF Oman Oil Marketing Company: “This partnership aligns with Oman Oil Marketing Company’s efforts to develop the maritime transport and shipping infrastructure in Oman, which is in alignment with the objectives Oman Vision 2040. It underscores our commitment to meeting the increasing demand of compliant, high-quality marine grades of fuel while adhering to the highest international health, safety, and environmental standards. Through our partnership with TFG Marine, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and the implementation of global best practices in fuel bunkering, we strive to lead towards excellence and sustainability in the bunker fuel business in the Sultanate’s ports.” Mr. Mark Russell, Chief Commercial Officer, TFG Marine added: “This is TFG Marine’s first venture in the Middle East and we look forward to serving our customers in this region. Oman has a rich history as a maritime nation and is well located close to the main shipping routes connecting the Arabian Gulf and the Indian subcontinent with the rest of the world.” Today’s announcement follows the signing of an MOU agreement between SOHAR Port and Freezone and TFG Marine, to establish an international bunker fuel supply operation. TFG Marine’s has already deployed bunker vessel the Margherita Cosulich to the region to supply vessels at SOHAR’s deep-sea port. The vessel is fitted with a Mass Flow Meter (MFM), calibrated to the ISO 22192 international standard as required by SOHAR Port. TFG Marine has long been an advocate of the global adoption of calibrated MFMs to bring much-needed transparency to bunkering and encouraging digitalisation in the long-term interests of the bunker industry and helping to further the decarbonisation goals of the shipping industry. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
SLS Earns 5 Lab Awards Nominations
Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS), the UK and Ireland’s leading independent laboratory equipment distributor, has earned five nominations at the Lab Awards 2024, held at the Lab Innovations exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham, on October 30. As well as four product ‘Innovation’ nominations, the laboratory supplier hopes to win the ‘Supplier Excellence’ award in recognition of its newly opened National Distribution Centre (NDC). SLS is also proudly sponsoring the ‘Lab Technician of the Year’. SLS’s full list of award nominations at the upcoming Lab Awards 2024 includes ‘Best Sustainable Innovation’, ‘Best Consumables Innovation’, ‘Best Technology Innovation’, ‘Best Automation and Data Innovation’ and ‘Supplier Excellence’. The laboratory equipment distributor, exhibiting from stand K80, has the most nominations of any participant at this year’s awards and seeks to improve on its two awards won at Lab Innovations 2023. “The five nominations at this year’s Lab Awards continue a tremendous year for SLS,” said Ian Roulstone, managing director at SLS. “As Lab Awards sponsors, we know the importance of recognising excellence in the scientific community.” Amongst the technology on display on stand K80, SLS will exhibit the four award-nominated products at this year’s Lab Innovations that it has played a key role in distributing and promoting across the UK and Ireland. They include Eppendorf BioBased epT.I.P.S pipette tips, which use a second-generation bio-based polymer made from at least 90 per cent renewable resources. These renewables include waste and residues from vegetable oil refining or waste cooking oil. The product is nominated in the ‘Best Sustainable Innovation’ category. SLS will also exhibit the Merck Stericup E, nominated for ‘Best Consumables Innovation’. The product uses a funnel-less design in sterile vacuum filtration to reduce the plastic and packaging involved. It will appear alongside the Innovaprep Concentrating Pipette Select Automated Bio-Concentrator. Nominated for the ‘Best Technology Innovation’ award, the rapid bio-concentrator delivers rapid filtration and instant recovery of biological samples. This improves sensitivity for pathogen detection by any analysis method. Finally, the FluidX Automated Plate Seal Remover is nominated for ‘Best Automation and Data Innovation’. It automatically removes seals from a wide range of microplate types with one button, eliminating the need for mechanical removal mechanisms. “In addition to the product awards, we’re also pleased to have been nominated in the ‘Supplier Excellence’ category,” added Ian Roulstone. “This recognises SLS’s recent move to its new NDC at Fairham Business Park in Nottingham. The facility has already helped triple our daily number of serviced orders to 2,500 per day, reflecting how SLS prioritises customer needs and service.” Meanwhile, SLS will sponsor the Lab Awards 2024’s ‘Lab Technician of the Year’. Nominees include several technicians that work closely with SLS. They are Robin Parsons of Staffordshire University, Dr Nicky Morgan of the University of Salford, Alex Bird of the UK Biocentre, Lee Hibbett of the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy, Wewerly Fernandes of The Open University, Sophie Galloway of the University of Nottingham and Graham Hickman of Nottingham Trent University. Read more about SLS’s award-nominated laboratory products here and register for Lab Innovations ahead of the Lab Awards 2024 ceremony on October 30. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
