Government regulator ‘justifies’ documents indicating irregular bunkering activity

Evidence clearly showing that a blacklisted international oil supplier is circumventing Maltese laws to carry out multi-million-euro trading in Malta using a Maltese licensee, against the rules, has been played down by the government regulator REWS.

Official documents, known as Bunker Delivery Notes (BDNs), dating back a few weeks, show oil giant Trafigura issuing invoices confirming the supply of thousands of tons of marine fuel to vessels waiting in Maltese waters.

According to the documents, the ‘Endo Scirocco’, a barge operated by Maltese company CN Bunker Fuels Ltd, part of the Endo Group owned by local businessmen, delivered large fuel consignments on Trafigura’s behalf.

In 2013, following the notorious ‘dirty oil scandal,’ Trafigura was banned from participating in contracts to supply Enemalta due to allegations of corruption and sleaze.

Additionally, laws supposedly regulated by REWS (Regulator for Energy and Water Services) disallow unlicensed companies, such as Trafigura, to carry out bunkering operations in Maltese waters. The eight local licence holders cannot act as subcontractors to other firms.

Still, despite the documents clearly showing that Trafigura, through its subsidiary TFG Marine, was using CN Bunker Fuels to carry out this business irregularly, REWS defended its lack of action and insisted that it was aware of what was happening.

When presented with the BDN evidence showing the apparent irregularities, already pointed out to the regulator by competing Maltese licence holders, REWS stated that “the documents refer to an old version used by CN Bunker Fuels Ltd”.

“It is our understanding that the current version has a Maltese registered address with a logo of a Maltese registered company. This BDN reflects the information required to be present in terms of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) rules,” the government’s regulatory agency, led by Chairman James Camenzuli, said.

Camenzuli is facing criminal charges in court related to the fraudulent hospitals’ deal. Despite these charges, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli kept him in his influential position regulating a lucrative industry.

REWS also failed to provide the ‘new’ version of the BDN it referred to. The Shift can confirm that REWS’ justifications for the documents indicating irregularities “are an old version” are untrue.

The Shift has already revealed how the government, through Enemalta and Enemed, breached the ban on Trafigura by giving it multi-million-euro contracts for oil products in 2023. While Minister Dalli insisted in parliament that the blacklisting still stands, she could not explain its breach by two companies under her political clout.

Trafigura, through TFG Marine, is supplying some 40,000 metric tons of marine fuel in Maltese waters every month through its ‘collaboration’ with CN Bunker Fuels.

While rules dictate that no subcontracting is permitted, Nick Frendo, one of the owners of CN Funker Fuels, insisted with The Shift that his company was not acting as a subcontractor.

“There is nothing irregular or unauthorised in our operations,” Nick Frendo said.

“We have a working relationship with TFG Marine, and this was disclosed to REWS. We lease our barges and do the whole operation. We are not acting as Trafigura’s subcontractors,” Frendo underlined.

Industry sources describe what is going on as a roundabout way to circumvent the rules, creating unfair competition. However, so far, REWS has refused calls for an independent investigation.