The Marshalls Energy Company, once a profitable power firm, has sustained heavy losses since 2005 largely as a result of world market diesel prices coupled with reduced revenues as households and businesses cutback power usage in response to skyrocketing electricity rates.
The government elimination of import tariffs on utility fuel imports is making MEC’s fuel prices competitive with high seas refueling for fishing vessels, General Manager William Roberts said Friday.
The company has the largest tank farm — with storage capacity of six million gallons — in the Micronesian region outside of Guam and is working to parlay this into fuel contracts with the U.S. Navy, he said.
A visit by the U.S. Navy vessel USS Dubuque in June is giving MEC the opportunity to promote Majuro as a destination for more regular U.S. Navy refueling visits.
This, coupled with the recent visit by a representative of Glenn Defense Marine Asia to inspect port and related facilities in Majuro, is producing optimism at the firm about increasing fuel sales to Navy ships.
“We work through Glenn Marine of Singapore, which handles 23 different navies including the U.S.,” MEC bunker manager Phil Welch said Friday.
“Their manager was here recently and was impressed with some of the equipment we have that is advantageous for a Navy visit.”
Welch said MEC is “pushing for more port calls by Navy vessels.”
From previous U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard visits, the company knows how to handle the military vessels, he said. Aside from a safe port midway between Hawaii and Asia, Majuro has one key advantage over most islands in this part of the Pacific: a large fuel storage capacity owned by the government.
“We have big enough fuel tank farm to provide strategic reserves,” Welch said. “The Navy can pre-position fuel in Majuro so it’s here when they need it.”
He acknowledged that there is more work to do, particularly in working through a variety of details to begin to regularize the frequency of refueling stopovers by the U.S. Navy.
“We want to make Majuro a destination, not just an “alternative’ port for the Navy,” he said. “We have a safe port, adequate supplies and can pre-position fuel.”
Next month, a second advance team for the USS Dubuque will be arriving in preparation for the anticipated June visit. “It’s another chance for us to promote port Majuro,” Welch said.
But Majuro needs additional equipment to make it more attractive to the Navy. Among the items on Welch’s wish list is what is known as a “breasting barge” — a large floating platform that can be placed alongside a visiting vessel anchored in the lagoon to speed loading and offloading crew and visitors. The addition of such equipment will “make the navy more comfortable” in coming to Majuro, he said.
Overall, Welch said Majuro and MEC are in a better position today than it was a year ago to attract the Navy, with fuel prices more competitive.
“We’re getting a lot more inquiries now for fuel purchases,” he said. Most of these are coming from fishing-related companies, but he is hopeful of securing more navy visits in the future.
