Ascension Island Challenge

Supplying fuel to motor yachts comes with a unique array of challenges. A request from one of our regular clients for a fuel supply on Ascension Island gave us one of our trickiest jobs to date ... but we made it happen with a little creative thinking and teamwork!

None of my usual contacts were able to supply fuel on Ascension Island. The manager of the local power station told me that no vessels brought large quantities of fuel to the island, and the islanders’ limited stocks were for domestic use only. Even if there had been fuel available on the island, the length and draft of the yacht meant that it could not dock alongside at Pier Head to bunker. Furthermore, the crystal clear seas are teaming with fish and marine life, so transporting fuel out to sea on a pontoon was a difficult option as there were no clean-up facilities to hand, had a spillage occurred.

Undaunted, I continued to look for options.

It soon came to light that one of our sister companies in the Geos Group, Lindsay Blee Ltd, regularly arranged bunkers for the St. Helena, the ship that brought supplies to Ascension Island. By luck, the St. Helena had a fuel tank on board and she was due to visit the island at around the same time as my client’s motor yacht needed its bunkers.

We set about making the arrangements – taking out insurance and checking safety regulations – for the St. Helena to help out, and she picked up a supply of fuel in Cape Town, her last port of call before Ascension. Fortunately the operators of the St. Helena had on board the necessary hardware of hoses and pumps, so now we just had to get it from the St. Helena to the motor yacht.

On arrival, the fuel tank on board the supply ship was transferred by crane to a local barge. The barge made its way to the waiting yacht, hoses were connected and delivery of around 20,000 litres of fuel commenced. It was vital that the yacht anchored as close as safely possible to the barge – fortunately the weather was kind and there was minimal swell. The operation was a great success, and our client was delighted to be able to visit the beautiful Ascension Island.

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