MIFCO has announced that arrangements are being made under its port plan to supply fuel to fishing vessels from all its fish purchasing boats operating in Huvadhoo Atoll.
Due to delays in supply from Fuel Supply Maldives (FSM), MIFCO boats operating in the Huvadhoo region have been unable to issue diesel to fishing vessels for three days.
Addressing this issue, MIFCO stated today that arrangements are currently being made to ensure diesel is available to vessels from the company's fish purchasing boats. Accordingly, MIFCO noted that arrangements have now been made for fuel to be available from the boats stationed in Thinadhoo and Gadhdhoo.
Boats and locations where fuel is currently available in Huvadhoo Atoll:
- Thinadhoo Harbour: Mahaakalaminja
- Gadhdhoo Harbour: Randhi-30
MIFCO stated that Jazeera-102 is currently at Kooddoo Harbour and will soon depart for Faresmaathodaa after loading fuel. Additionally, Jazeera-103 is also currently at Kooddoo Harbour, and after loading diesel, the boat will travel to Thinadhoo Harbour, according to MIFCO.
Recently, FSM has been experiencing significant delays in supplying fuel. Every time such a delay occurs, MIFCO is forced to control the amount of fuel sold to vessels. Furthermore, MIFCO itself sometimes faces difficulties in obtaining fuel, leading to the halting of ice plant operations and disruptions to MIFCO's overall operations.
During a recent meeting held by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu with the fishermen's lobby, one of the most pressing issues highlighted by the fishermen was the lack of adequate fuel supply. As a measure to resolve this, the lobby submitted a paper to the President requesting arrangements for MIFCO to import the fuel required for its operations and to sell fuel to fishing vessels directly through MIFCO.
