In Business

SOL ANTILLES N.V., St. Maarten, enjoyed a record breaking year refueling mega-yachts in 2012 and the trend has continued in 2013.

The company twice broke its own fuel delivery records in 2012, and then eclipsed those records this month with a delivery of 675 000 litres of fuel to the largest private yacht in the world, the 536 foot Eclipse.

It took several hours and a dedicated crew working around the clock, from 10 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. the following morning. Four of our fuel trucks were deployed for this job which necessitated quite a few five-mile long trips from the loading gantry at Cole Cay Depot to the port.

This was the second major refuelling of the Eclipse undertaken recently by SOL ANTILLES N.V. on the behalf of the St. Maarten Harbor Holding Company (SMHHC). In December last year, some 500,000 litres of fuel was delivered to this mega-yacht, while in January 2012, the 381 foot Luna received 498,600 litres.

Commenting on the record breaking achievements, Operations Manager of SOL ANTILLES N.V., Robert J. James, said the opportunity to conduct large refueling operations for mega-yachts such as Luna and Eclipse was notable:

“It is very significant. The mega-yacht season in this part of the world starts around the beginning of December when the vessels arrive from Europe and the US. They usually remain here until March or April when they return. It is an extremely important part of our business as the volumes tend to be very large. These are prestigious yachts belonging to some of the world’s wealthiest people. The Eclipse is the largest private yacht in the world at 536 feet, and Luna is 21st.”

Mr. James said the reliance on SOL ANTILLES N.V. to refuel the mega-yachts was an important vote of confidence. He noted that Sol maintained a fuelling facility with fixed tanks and pipelines at the port, and other marinas from which most vessels could be fuelled directly. These mega-yachts however were too large to be berthed at any of these, and would dock instead at the cruise ship terminal pier, which meant that fuel had to be delivered by a large fuel truck.

“We are the exclusive supplier of marine fuel at the port. As mentioned we have a fixed facility there and we are probably the only company on the island that can supply the quality and quantity of product that these vessels require. Their standards are very high.”