Celebrating 15 years of SPM operations in Kochi
26 Dec 2022 | BPCL
The Single Point Mooring (SPM) at Kochi completes 15 years of operations in the outer waters of the Arabian Sea. Commemorating the milestone crossed in SPM operations, Shri Ajith Kumar K, Executive Director (Kochi Refinery) along with members of BPCL and the SPM operations team visited the SPM. ED (Kochi Refinery) along with Captain of the tanker Habrut cut a cake to mark the occasion.
With the Strategic Crude Oil receipt facilities consisting of Single Point Mooring (SPM) and associated shore tank farm in place since December 2007, Kochi Refinery has been equipped to receive crude oil in Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The facility helps the refinery in reducing the freight charges to a great extent, over and above increasing flexibility in crude oil selection.
In its 15 years of operations, the SPM has received 1404 tankers which includes 649 Suez Maxs and 305 VLCCs. Commissioned on 03 Dec 2007, the first Suez Max to be received was MT Ocean Sapphire with Arab Mix & Kuwaity parcels. The first VLCC, MT Star II arrived in January 2008 carrying Iranian Mix & Kuwaity parcels. From December 2007 to mid-November 2022, the throughput of the SPM has been 180.043 MMT.
The SPM is a major infrastructure facility for Refineries to accelerate future growth. The SPM facilitates berthing or mooring of VLCC’s which require very high draft of more than 20 meters for movement which is usually not available near the shore. This implies no lighterage of smaller vessels and hence reduces costing, including demurrages. The SPM serves as an instant port as they can be installed in high sea locations without construction of jetties. It also facilitates faster turnaround of vessels as there is no dredging required. The maximum discharge rate of VLCC’s is usually above 10,000 KL/hr (unlike that of smaller vessels) which can be utilised to the Corporation’s advantage. This thereby reduces unloading time and helps prevent traffic or tanker bunching.
