SEKAVIN - INSIDE MARINE

SEKAVIN

KEEPING THE MARITIME INDUSTRY FUELLED UP

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SEKAVIN

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PROFILE

Keeping the MARITIME INDUSTRY fuelled up SEKAVIN is a Greek family-owned, global energy provider, committed to reliable and efficient bunkering services. The company is a physical supplier in Piraeus and Syros, where SEKAVIN owns a strategically located fuel bunkering station in the Central Aegean.

SEKAVIN also services a wide range of customers through its global bunker and lubricant trading desk. With more than 40 years of experience, its team is highly regarded for ensuring efficient and high-quality services to a host of clients. Profile by Andy Probert.

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stablished in 1979, SEKAVIN has become a specialised, leading supplier of fuel oils, distillates and lubricants to the broader region around Piraeus Port, Agioi Theodoroi and Syros Island.

The company’s physical supply desk is complemented by a back-to-back bunker trading division that serves clients worldwide, a physical operations unit for vessels coming to Greek ports and an agency mainly serving clients in Greek ports.

The $200 million company, which employs 120 people, registered an average 15% growth in volumes in 2021 and has predicted similar growth in 2022.

“The combination of these three units brings added value to our customers, serving them across the entire value chain surrounding their bunkering operations,” commented Sifis Vardinoyannis, Director to the Company Board, and day-to-day Operations Manager.

“SEKAVIN has been one of the main suppliers in Greece since its founding and has maintained good market share in the bunkering market. Our philosophy entails catering to clients’ priorities and providing competitively priced, effective services.”

Quality bunkering operation SEKAVIN’s ownership and operation of a bunkering station south of Syros Island, in the Central Aegean, is logistically placed to serve vessels on various routes: from the West Mediterranean and Adriatic to North Greece, the Bosporus Straits, Black Sea, Asia Minor Levant and Suez Canal.

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SEKAVIN

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PROFILE

The station has five tanks; three for fuel oil with tank capacities ranging from 2,800 cbm to 18,000 cbm, and two storage units for gas oil, ranging from 800 cbm to 2,000 cbm. Supplies from the 30,000 cbm hub take place ex-wharf for vessels up to 20,000mt or by barge at anchorage off Syros Island for vessels above 20,000mt. Mr Vardinoyannis emphasised the deviation costs that would have been incurred on vessels calling for bunkers to nearby ports are eliminated.

The company operates the bunkering station 24/7 in accordance with ISO specifications, with continuous supervision and fast turnarounds with pumping rates up to 500MTS per hour, while providing a full range of fuel oil grades from 30CST up to 380CST. “We have experienced and well-trained personnel who spare no effort in making the most difficult request possible for a customer’s total satisfaction.”

SEKAVIN also pays attention to the ecological aspects of bunkering activity, strictly following existing rules around petroleum transshipping operations and preventing leakage of oil products.

“We strive to minimise the risk of environmental incidents at all times and are ready to respond rapidly and effectively should a problem arise.”

The Syros facility also provides a revised oil spill response facility contingency plan. It is equipped with antipollution equip-

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ment and modern technology to prevent oil spills and detect leakage of oil products. The company’s antipollution team is highly trained and the company invests to ensure the health and security of its personnel at all times.

Highly flexible approach The Piraeus-headquartered company also utilises four barges for fuel deliveries from the Motor Oil Refinery and the Hellenic Petroleum Refinery on charter to clients’ vessels to all Greek ports.

Mr Vardinoyannis said SEKAVIN operates four vessels ranging between 900 and 5,000 DWT. They include a long-term bareboat charter of a vessel in Syros and the time charter of a vessel to a sister bunkering company in Greece. The company owns two 3,500 DWT oil tankers, the Kalikratis and Zakros, and expects a new vessel in mid-2022.

“Our clientele buys from traders and charterers to direct owners,” he informed. The type of vessels they serve is around 70% bulkers, 20% tankers, and the other 10% is a mix of vessels from cruise ships to ferries.”

SEKAVIN also supplies MFO380cst, MFO180cst, MGO and lubricants to all types of vessels and ensures operational excellence across the supply chain from the refinery to vessel.

Boosted by an excellent performance in 2021, the company is now looking to expand operations into other ports and increase market share in Greece.

Sifis Vardinoyannis - Director to the Company Board

“It is an interesting time in the industry, as energy transition and scrutiny of shipping places bunkering firmly at the centre of these overlapping circles. It remains a very competitive landscape”

“This may well include an expansion of our barge fleet, but we are also looking at renewables and anything to do with carbon offsets,” commented Mr Vardinoyannis.

“Our driving force at the moment is the back-to-back trading unit, and the goal is to expand our capabilities to include physical operations in various locations. If we reach a critical volume that makes sense for us to create a physical operation, then we will do it.”

Customer-centric approach During the pandemic, the company sold off some of its old vessels and managed to time-charter its vessels for short periods, which helped pay off running costs.

“Performance in Q1 2020 was very strong, but it was more of a transitional year,” stated Mr Vardinoyannis. “2021 overall was a strong year, both in terms of volumes and margin, with increased demand driven by our trading unit which commenced operations in May.” He added: “Challenges do remain, with commodity price volatility exacerbated by major geopolitical events in the Ukraine, the evolving compliance and regulations framework, while competition in the bunkering market heightens as new players come into the industry. Nonetheless, our business is always committed to serving our customers first, leveraging our decades-long experience and in-depth knowledge of the shipping and bunker markets.”

Mr Vardinoyannis said that being transparent, honest and accountable gives SEKAVIN’s suppliers and clients confidence, and “we always deliver what we promise”.

He concluded: “It is an interesting time in the industry, as energy transition and scrutiny of shipping places bunkering firmly at the centre of these overlapping circles. It remains a very competitive landscape, and I believe our company is strong and optimally positioned. We therefore look forward to the future with optimism.” n

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