Petrobras Resumes Bunkering at Rio Grande After Storm Outage | Mariner News

Petrobras has resumed bunkering operations at Rio Grande in southern Brazil, ending a three-day suspension caused by a severe tropical storm that disrupted power to its loading terminal. The restart restores vital fuel supply at the port for vessels navigating the South Atlantic region.

The state-owned oil company confirmed on Thursday that power had been fully restored at the Rio Grande Terminal. Operations recommenced after a thorough inspection of facilities, prioritizing safety and operational reliability following the disruption.

Deliveries were halted on Monday when a tropical storm, featuring winds exceeding 100 km/h, struck the city in the early hours. The storm inflicted damage to local infrastructure, leaving the bunkering terminal without power and forcing Petrobras to suspend operations. At the time of the outage, the company indicated it was unable to reliably estimate a resumption timeline, underscoring the severity of the infrastructure damage.

Petrobras’s emphasis on comprehensive facility inspections before resuming operations, even after power restoration, highlights a commitment to robust safety protocols following significant weather events. This systematic approach, while extending the downtime, aims to ensure consistent, high-quality service for customers.

The company’s notice did not specify the exact time deliveries restarted on Thursday, nor did it detail whether any bunkering stems were missed or vessels diverted during the three-day stoppage. This commercial impact data will be closely watched by charterers and operators who faced potential schedule disruptions.