Vitol and Cnergyico, Pakistan’s largest oil refiner, have delivered the country’s biggest single shipment of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) for ship refuelling, the global trading firm said in a statement late Monday.

The move will enable large vessels refuelling in Pakistan to now sail longer routes from east to west without needing to stop elsewhere, while also giving the country a stronger local supply of environmentally compliant marine fuel.

This shipment came from Cnergyico’s first large-scale batch of fuel that meets International Maritime Organisation (IMO) low-sulphur rules. The company began producing it after importing its first US crude oil cargoes earlier this year.

Vitol delivered the VLSFO to a vessel owned and operated by shipping major MSC at Port Qasim, using a Singapore-flagged bunker barge Marine Ista that has the capacity to supply 6,800 metric tons of marine fuel in a single delivery.

It was also the first barge to load fuel directly from the Karachi Port Trust’s Oil Pier rather than through truck deliveries.

Cnergyico will continue providing Vitol with this cleaner marine fuel, according to Vitol.

“This latest initiative enhances Pakistan’s capacity to serve the global shipping industry with sustainable fuel solutions,” said Aumar Abbassciy, director at Cnergyico Pk Limited.

Vitol’s new bunker locations in Pakistan will include Karachi Port, Port Qasim, and Karachi Anchorage, according to Vitol’s bunker trading and marketing manager Ammar Hussaini.