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What we trade and what we handle
Four product families and the operational services that get them from a shore tank to your receiving point — chartering, storage, inspection, customs and the document set. Every grade below is quoted against a published standard and a full quality table.
Gasoil and diesel are the backbone of the book. They move in the largest volumes, they are the most tightly specified, and they are where a careless trader gets caught first.
Sulphur is the parameter everyone quotes, but it is rarely the one that causes a rejection. Cold filter plugging point on a cargo sailing into a northern winter, cetane index on a blend that has been cut too hard, flash point after a warm loading — those are the numbers that decide whether a parcel is accepted at the discharge manifold. We put the full table on every offer, and we treat the awkward parameters as the ones worth talking about.
Parcels run from single truck lots on a delivered basis through to full clean-product cargoes on MR tonnage. Below coaster size, a truck programme out of a Hamriyah or Fujairah terminal is almost always cheaper and faster than trying to force a small parcel through a berth window.
| Grade | Sulphur | Typical use | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| EN 590 gasoil | 10 ppm | Regulated on-road markets, modern fleets | CIF / CFR / FOB |
| Gasoil 50 ppm | 50 ppm | Transitional on-road and captive fleets | CIF / CFR / FOB |
| Gasoil 500 ppm | 500 ppm | Off-road, agriculture, generation | CIF / CFR / ex-tank |
| Gasoil 5000 ppm | 0.5 % max | Mining, heavy plant, industrial burners | CIF / CFR / ex-tank |
| Automotive diesel D2 | By specification | Regional grades to buyer's national standard | CIF / DAP |
Chartering and freight
On a delivered cargo, freight is frequently the difference between a workable number and a wasted week. We fix tonnage through established brokers, vet the vessel on age, class and P&I cover, and obtain terminal acceptance before the nomination is confirmed rather than after.
Laytime, demurrage rate and the pumping warranty are agreed in the charter and mirrored in the sale contract, so the two documents cannot contradict each other when a berth runs late. Where a buyer prefers to control their own freight, we quote FOB and hand over a clean loading window instead.
Fujairah is the second largest bunkering hub in the world and it sits ninety minutes from our office. That proximity is the whole reason this desk exists.
Since IMO 2020 the compliant-grade market has stayed structurally awkward: VLSFO compatibility varies between suppliers, and blending two perfectly on-spec parcels in the same tank can still put sediment through a purifier. We quote by supplier and by grade, we do not mix stems between suppliers without the chief engineer's agreement, and we retain samples at both the barge and the receiving manifold.
The high-value, high-consequence end of the barrel — where a certificate from an unrecognised laboratory is worth nothing and everybody in the chain knows it.
Gasoline moves against a full quality table: research octane, Reid vapour pressure adjusted for the destination's season, benzene, lead and oxygenate content to whatever the receiving country's standard demands. Winter and summer grades are not interchangeable, and we will not let a cargo sail against the wrong one because the buyer's specification was copied from last year.
Jet A-1 is handled only with a valid refinery certificate of analysis, a documented supply chain and, where the receiving airport requires it, a joint inspection at the discharge point. Aviation fuel is the one product where we will simply decline a trade rather than accept a gap in the paperwork.
Crude oil is traded strictly as a cross-trade — loaded at an origin outside the UAE and discharged at a destination outside the UAE — as our licence provides. Cargoes are handled against firm end-buyer documentation, with quality assessed on API gravity, sulphur, TAN and the full assay rather than on a name.
| Product | Key parameters | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline 91 RON | RON, RVP, benzene, lead | Unleaded; seasonal RVP set for the destination |
| Gasoline 95 RON | RON, MON, RVP, oxygenates | Quoted to the receiving country's national standard |
| Jet A-1 | Freeze point, flash, conductivity | Refinery COA required; joint inspection where demanded |
| Kerosene | Smoke point, flash, distillation | Illuminating and industrial grades |
| Crude oil | API, sulphur, TAN, full assay | Cross-trade only, outside the United Arab Emirates |
The packed side of the licence, and the part of the business that behaves least like commodity trading. Orders are smaller, repeat cycles are longer, and the customer is usually a distributor or a workshop rather than a trader — so consistency matters far more than the last two dollars on a tonne.
Group I and Group II base stocks for blenders and re-packers, in bulk parcel, flexitank or 208-litre drum. Viscosity index, pour point and colour certified per batch.
Engine, hydraulic, gear and transmission oils for road fleets, plant, marine auxiliaries and industry — supplied in drum, pail and IBC, with private-label filling available on agreed volumes.
Lithium and lithium-complex greases for automotive, marine deck machinery and heavy industry, in cartridge, pail and drum. Dropping point and worked penetration certified per batch.
Around every cargo
These are not add-ons. They are what a trader is for. A counterparty who wanted only a price could get one from a screen; what they cannot get from a screen is somebody who will hold the berth, chase the inspector and read the credit.
Chartering & freight
Vessels fixed through established brokers and vetted on age, class, P&I cover and inspection history. Terminal acceptance obtained before the nomination is confirmed. Laytime and demurrage mirrored between charter and sale contract so they cannot conflict.
Storage & blending
Independent storage at Hamriyah and Fujairah for staging, breaking bulk and holding stock against a buyer's call-off programme. Segregated tanks for light ends, heated capacity for residuals, and in-tank transfer where title needs to move without the product doing so.
Inspection & testing
Independent quantity and quality survey at load and, where contracted, at discharge. Shore tank gauging reconciled to vessel ullage. Sealed retained samples held for the contractual claim period. The buyer is free to nominate the inspector.
Customs & free zone
Free zone entry, bonded movement and re-export documentation processed under the Hamriyah regime. Certificates of origin obtained and legalised where the destination requires it, including chamber and consular legalisation.
Trade finance
Documentary and standby letters of credit, cash against documents and telegraphic transfer. Credit wording reviewed against the document set we can genuinely produce, before it is issued — the cheapest place to fix a discrepancy is in the draft.
Documentation
Bill of lading, commercial invoice, certificate of origin, certificate of quality and quantity, ullage report, time sheet, cargo manifest and packing list where applicable — assembled as one pack and reconciled to the credit before presentation.
What we need from you
Most enquiries stall because the first message leaves out something we cannot guess. If your note contains the five items below, you will normally have an indication back the same working day.
Service questions
Including when it does not. A straight no on day one is worth more than a maybe that runs for a month.