United Maritime-owned Elite on exclusive charter to Chevron for five years.

Chevron International Pte. Ltd has marked the first delivery of lubricant products by Elite, a double-hulled marine lubricants oil barge. Arriving in Singapore on 17 July 2009, Elite is the first double-hull lubricants-delivery barge to operate in Singapore and is on exclusive charter to Chevron for five years.

Elite has a capacity of 790 kiloliters. It was constructed by Ocean Leader Shipbuilding Co Ltd to a cost of SGD$3.8 million.

Elite’s delivery in July will be followed by a second new barge in the fourth quarter of the year. This vessel, Eminence, is also a double-hull barge. Both barges will replace Chevron’s current usage of single-hull barges.

“Singapore is the world’s largest marine lubricants market and comprises a significant portion of Chevron’s global business. From here, we service a wide number of global marine customers who need to lubricate their vessels while in Singapore,” said Christopher Walden, General Manager, Supply Chain, Asia-Pacific.

“In line with the MARPOL Convention, Singapore will cease the use of all single-hull vessels by 2015. Our long-term contract with United Maritime to charter two double-hull barges for the safe delivery of products to these customers reaffirms our commitment both to safety and to the Singapore market,” he added.