The head of the "East" port unit - Sonatrach-Skikda marketing activity, Hocine Belabed, indicated, in a statement to APS, that the loading of fuel on board the oil tanker In Ecker (a ship belonging to HYPROC Shipping Company, a subsidiary of Sonatrach specializing in the maritime transport of hydrocarbons, editor's note), had started Tuesday evening at the oil port of Skikda and continued for 18 hours, until Wednesday around 3:30 p.m.
A wait of several hours was necessary after the end of loading in order to finalize the technical, commercial and security procedures, before the ship could set sail for its destination, explained Mr. Belabed, specifying that several structures of the Sonatrach group, namely the Skikda refinery, the "East" port unit - marketing activity and the Société d'exploitation des terminals marins à hydrocarbures (STH) were involved in carrying out this operation.
For his part, the director of the Skikda refinery, Abdelhamid Merabet, indicated that this cargo of fuel intended for Lebanon was produced at the Skikda refinery which has a production capacity of around 16.5 million tons/year.
As a reminder, this operation was carried out on the instructions of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who ordered to provide Lebanon with the quantities of fuel necessary for the operation of power plants and the restoration of electricity in this brotherly country, thus reflecting the bonds of solidarity and fraternity uniting the two countries.