Ship-to-ship operation

The operation lasted for five days, during which we transferred one million barrels of oil without any S&E incidents. The achievement, which Repsol Sinopec Brazil secured on 21 December 2016, optimises and gives flexibility to our crude oil trading operations.

The operation was planned and supervised by Repsol Sinopec Brasil and carried out by Fendercare Marine, a specialist ship-to-ship cargo transfer provider with more than 20 years of experience that performs approximately 2,800 ship-to-ship services each year.

This operation involved many months of preparation during which a comprehensive safety and environmental assessment (S&E) was carried out. The S&E department reviewed all documentation related to the operation and prepared a comprehensive and detailed emergency response plan.

During the months of preparation, five audits were carried out at the operator's shore base to ensure our company's operational standards and compliance with local regulations.

In October, a first test of the emergency response plan was conducted with a theoretical oil spill response drill, followed by a practical emergency response drill at the Repsol Sinopec Brasil headquarters and at the STS base of operations.

A two-day HAZID workshop (Hazard Identification Study), led by Repsol Sinopec Brasil's Safety and Environment team, was also held over two days with the participation of representatives of oil tankers, the Ship-to-Ship operator, the oil spill response equipment supplier, and representatives from the marketing department and S&E Repsol Sinopec Brasil.

During the preparation work, the Safety and Environment team inspected and supervised the loading and unloading of equipment on the support vessel and during the operation, one representative of the S&E team was present on the tanker and one on the support vessel.