OIL JETTY

Port Louis Harbour handles around 1.5 million MT of petroleum products annually, comprising white oil (Motor Gasoline, Ethanol, Gas Oil and Jet Aviation Fuel), Fuel Oil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Molasses. 

With a view to mitigate the risks associated with the handling of petroleum products and in line with recommendations following risk assessments carried out, MPA had constructed an Oil Jetty at Mer Rouge which was commissioned in November 2008. This dedicated facility allows all Class A petroleum products to be handled at Mer Rouge thus reducing the level of risks to the administrative zones, residential areas and commercial facilities located in the vicinity of the port.    Only less risky class B products, mainly the bunkering fuels, are presently allowed to be discharged or loaded for bunkering purposes at the existing facilities in the inner harbour.

Although the berthing facility at the oil jetty was originally designed to be used by tankers with 50,000 DWT, the deepening of the alongside depth from 14.5 metres to 16 metres now allows tankers with deeper draft to call at the jetty with product parcels of 64,000 T. The facility has a throughput capacity of about 4 Million tonnes per annum. Connecting pipelines run between the oil jetty and the various storage tanks of all the oil industry players. The oil jetty is also used to load out LPG from the largest regional LPG storage farm at Port Louis (15,000 MT capacity) for distribution to the Indian Ocean Islands and East Africa.