Fuel cargo brokerage, done the way the serious houses do it.

We track product tankers across 13 Southern African ports every day. When a parcel sits longer than it should, we find the owner — and the licensed buyer who fits it.

The fuel desk

What we actually broker

The long-tail of the cargo market: 10,000–60,000 MT parcels of EN590 diesel, jet fuel, gasoil and fuel oil in secondary ports — Durban, Richards Bay, Walvis Bay, Beira, Maputo, Nacala and the rest of the SADC coastline. The lots the majors' desks don't watch.

Our honest position: we are not "the broker who sees ships nobody else sees." AIS is public — anyone can see a tanker at anchor. The value is the interpretation (draught ratios, idle patterns, port context) and the network: verified owners on one side, licensed importers and terminal operators on the other.
Owners

You have a parcel sitting

Demurrage running, discharge port defaulted, charter fallen through. We approach you through the proper channels (port agent → principal), and bring a buying desk that fits your parcel — with the document chain ready: NCNDA, FCO, IMFPA.

Buyers

You lift spot cargoes

State importers, terminal operators, distributors: we flag parcels that match your ports, specs and volumes before the wider market sees them. Every parcel comes named: vessel, IMO, live position, owner of record, SGS at discharge at your option.

How a cargo deal runs

StepWhat happensWho moves it
01 VerifyVessel named by IMO + MMSI; position confirmed on live AIS; owner of record confirmed in the shipping registersMeridian, before anything else
02 ProtectNCNDA signed by all parties; IMFPA filed so the commission chain is agreed in writing up frontBoth sides, day one
03 OfferOwner issues FCO: product, quantity, spec, price basis, laycan, discharge port. 48-hour validityOwner, via our introduction
04 CommitBuyer issues ICPO/LOI on company letterhead; SPA drafted and executedBuyer
05 PaySBLC, MT103 or independent-law-firm escrow — release against SGS Q&Q + full title documentsBuyer's bank
06 CloseDischarge, SGS pass, funds release, IMFPA chain settles within 48 hours of seller paymentEveryone — cleanly

Full document templates — NCNDA, FCO, LOI, IMFPA, SGS request — available on request to verified counterparties.

Scam patterns we walk away from

The cargo brokerage space carries an industrial-scale scam economy. We documented the eight most common patterns, and our operating rules are built to neutralise every one of them.

"Allocations" and double-digit discounts

Nobody sells real fuel at 20–30% below Platts. The bigger the discount, the faster we hang up. Real distressed cargo trades a few dollars under the benchmark — not a miracle.

POP-before-LC inversions

Proof of product before any payment instrument exists is the classic inversion. Real sellers show title documents against a real payment commitment. We follow the ICC-recognised sequence, not the scam one.

Layer-cake mandates

"Seller's mandate's mandate" with no verifiable chain to the owner. Our rule: one intermediary per side, maximum — and the owner is always reachable through the port agent of record.

Pay-to-play

Any "registration fee", "performance bond to the broker", or "documentation fee" before a deal exists = walk. We never pay to play and neither should you.

Coverage

Ports we watch daily

Live AIS monitoring across the SADC coastline: Durban · Richards Bay · Cape Town · Saldanha · Port Elizabeth · Coega/Ngqura · East London · Walvis Bay · Lüderitz · Maputo · Beira · Nacala · Dar es Salaam

Port agents of record on file for every port — the proper channel to every owner.

Owners: stop the demurrage clock.

Buyers: see the parcels that fit your book before the market does. One email starts either conversation.

info@meridianpetroleumgroup.com