State Trading Organisation (STO) has introduced the first barge commissioned in the Maldives dedicated to supplying Jet A-1 fuel to refueling stations across the country.
The barge named Lagana was introduced at a ceremony held at Funadhoo, Shaviyani Atoll. The barge was constructed with the assistance of HansaConsult Projects. It is the first of its kind dedicated to supplying Jet A-1 fuel. As such, the barge has been commissioned under an agreement with STO and Island Aviation Services Limited (IASL) to supply jet fuel to Maafaru International Airport. The barge was designed to solve the problems encountered in safely transporting jet fuel to the atolls.
Managing Director of STO Abdulla Saeed said the barge will facilitate the supply of fuel to domestic airports. He also said that the barge currently provides services to IASL and more barges will be brought in as demand increases.
STO stated that Lagana has a capacity of 200cbm. It is also equipped with state-of-the-art measuring instruments and has been commissioned with industry-standard filters for aviation in accordance with relevant quality assurance codes. It is the first of its kind in the Maldives to be equipped with such filters.
STO stated that the crew of the barge has been provided with field training in aviation fuel handling and relevant operations manuals and documents. STO also established a quality assurance system to trace jet fuel from refinery to flight. As such, fuel samples will be taken at each transfer point and tested at the laboratory set up by STO in Male' City.