Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina started bunkering service at the Krakatau Port near Jakarta on August 27. The Elona bulk carrier receives 175,000 litres (1,100 barrels) of low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) from Pertamina at the port. The service is part of a cooperation between Pertamina and Krakatau Port to establish a bunkering service in the Sunda Strait. Pertamina has previously supplied LSFO at ports of Jakarta, Surabaya, and Balikpapan.
The Sunda Strait is a shipping chokepoint between Java and Sumatra, two of Indonesia’s major islands. Indonesia is planning to develop infrastructure for the marine industry in the Sunda strait to attract ships to refuel there instead of the strait of Malacca. The Sunda strait is mostly used by ships sailing from Africa’s Cape Peninsula to East Asia and by Australian ships sailing to Southeast or East Asian ports. According to Indonesia’s maritime affairs authority, about 53,000 ships passed along the Sunda strait in 2020, compared to 120,000 using the Malacca strait.
