India's first SPM facility at IOC-Vadinar berths the 6,000th oil tanker

New Delhi, Oct 17 (PTI) India's first unloading single point mooring (SPM) facility, commissioned by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in 1978 at Vadinar in Gujarat, achieved a significant milestone with the berthing of the 6,000th oil tanker.

Oil tanker MT Yio, a Liberian very large crude carrier carrying Basrah crude oil from Iraq, berthed at the Vadinar SPM, the company said in a statement.

IOC chairman S M Vaidya and the company's director for pipelines D S Nanaware welcomed the crew of MT Yio to celebrate the momentous occasion, it said.

Complimenting the team Vadinar of IOC, Vaidya said, "Economic and social growth relies on energy and given our dependence on foreign crude, unloading crude supplies from large crude-carrying vessels deep into the sea safely and reliably is vital to keep our refineries running." The 3 lakh kilo litres of crude oil that MT Yio is carrying is adequate to meet about 40 per cent of the daily fuel requirement of the entire nation, he said.

IOC currently operates two SPM terminals at Vadinar, in the south of the Gulf of Kutch, for unloading of crude oil brought in tankers for transportation to shore tanks through pipelines, of which around 14 km is subsea.

Subsequently, the crude is transported through cross-country pipelines to IOC's mega refineries at Vadodara in Gujarat, Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and Panipat in Haryana.

"With the unloading of this crude parcel, IOC Vadinar terminal has crossed a cumulative receipt of 735 million tonnes," it said. PTI ANZ HVA