Monjasa has qualified two bunker barges — Roma 101 and Roma 304 — for oil-major work in Cartagena, Colombia, after both vessels cleared the Barge Inspection Report Exchange (BIRE) scheme run by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF).

The BIRE pass lets the bunker supplier serve crude-export customers that demand higher fleet standards, opening a customer segment that was previously off-limits to non-qualified tonnage. It also tightens Monjasa's grip on the Colombian bunker chain, from wellhead to delivery.

"With this development, Monjasa has increased its ownership across the Cartagena supply chain, giving us direct control from sourcing at oil well processing or refineries, through storage and blending, all the way to final ship-to-ship delivery," Camilo Angulo Ferrand, Monjasa's trading director Americas, told ENGINE.

What does BIRE clearance change for Monjasa's customers?

BIRE is a standardised vessel inspection database managed by OCIMF, an association of global oil and energy companies. Under the scheme, a bunker supplier and a customer share inspection findings and vessel-condition reports before or after a barge operation.

In practice, oil majors and large traders operating in Cartagena will now accept deliveries from Roma 101 and Roma 304 — barges Monjasa already had on station. Without BIRE clearance, those customers would have had to source from a narrower pool of approved tonnage or push deliveries elsewhere.

"Colombia is a country that exports crude regularly, and therefore there's a need to cater for a customer segment requiring a higher standard on the fleet they will accept for bunkering, such as oil major," Ferrand said.

How does the move fit Monjasa's Cartagena footprint?

Both barges are already active in the Cartagena market, where they perform regular bunker deliveries. Through the same operation, Monjasa currently supplies HSFO, VLSFO, MGO and customised biofuel blends.

The BIRE clearance adds a fleet-qualification layer on top of that product range. For shipowners and charterers calling at Colombia's Caribbean terminals, the practical effect is a wider pool of oil-major-approved tonnage available to lift compliant fuel without chartering in additional capacity.

What are the commercial consequences for competitors and shippers?

Bunker buyers in Cartagena split into two camps: price-sensitive operators willing to use any compliant barge, and oil-major-linked tonnage restricted to BIRE-cleared fleets. Monjasa now operates in both.

For competitors without BIRE-approved barges on the bay, the move narrows the addressable market on every oil-major inquiry. Monjasa, by contrast, can quote on the full tender set without sub-chartering qualified tonnage — a margin and reliability advantage on spot and term business.

The Cartagena play also tracks a broader shift across Latin American bunker hubs toward standardised, audited supply. Colombia's crude-export profile pulls in tankers that must refuel under stricter corporate HSE frameworks, and suppliers lacking BIRE coverage risk being cut out of that book.

What's next for the Cartagena operation?

Monjasa's existing Cartagena roster — Roma 101, Roma 304, plus storage and blending infrastructure handling HSFO, VLSFO, MGO and customised biofuel blends — now functions as a fully oil-major-qualified hub.

The next signal to watch is whether the supplier extends the BIRE-qualified footprint to other Colombian anchorages or into neighbouring bunker markets across the Caribbean basin, where oil-major tonnage demand follows crude-export flows.