Falmouth's new bunkering vessel the 2,000 ton Whitstar has arrived in the port and is ready to supply bunkers for Tramp Oil & Marine, the company that has secured what the international shipping paper Lloyd's List describes as "a lucrative Falmouth supply contract." Bunkering is expected to resume within days with Tramp reporting high levels of enquiries for fuel oil.

Bob Leyton, Tramp's general manager, said: "Tramp is pleased to have secured this contract as it will support our Humber bunkering operation. It will allow us to buy cargoes under a two port discharge structure, Immingham and Falmouth, which should optimise freight rates from cargo sellers and as a result make us more competitive as a supplier at both locations."

Tramp have time-chartered the Whitstar, which arrived on Tuesday, to supply fuel oil, gas oil, and marine diesel oil and bulk lubricants. Whitaker's have a long association with Falmouth and bunkering in the port. Their safety record and expertise in bunkering was instrumental in Tramp's success in bidding for the contract.

The port has been in limbo since the shock news that Fuel and Marine Marketing (FAMM) pulled the plug on their bunkering business a month ago.

Management at FAMM are remaining tight lipped over the decision to abandon Falmouth after so many years. Industry sources claim it was a "change in corporate direction."

Tramp Oil is expecting to supply a volume of one million tonnes in 2004 between Falmouth, Immingham and Panama, where it is the second biggest supplier in the region. Worldwide the Tramp group expect sales of 6.5 million tonnes for the year.