| Mid-sea bunkering oil suppliers have increased the oil prices by about Rs 1.8 per litre, which will be implemented from next week. |
| "We have been fixing the prices of fuel, which is supplied at mid-sea as per the international prices. If prices fall in the international market, we reduce the prices immediately but if prices increase, we have to increase the prices accordingly," S K Aggarwal, managing director, Sagarika Sea Crafts Limited, told Business Standard. |
| Sagarika Sea Crafts, which has a mid-sea bunkering facility, supplies fuel to Vizag-based trawler operators. During the last fishing season, the company supplied about 70 lakh litre of diesel to trawler operators in the mid-sea. Mid-sea bunkering operators bring diesel directly from foreign oil companies and sell it at mid-sea. |
| As the the oil prices are cheaper by about Rs 8 per litre at mid-sea when compared to land, trawler owners prefer oil at mid sea. |
| Moreover, the Central government has given permission to trawler operators to buy oil in the mid-sea itself to reduce the operating costs. Of the total trawler operating expenditure, fuel cost itself is about 75 per cent, so any increase in fuel prices will hit the deep sea fishing industry, Aggarwal said. |
| At the closing time of the last fishing season ie, in April 2005, the mid-sea bunkering operators supplied diesel oil at about Rs 20 per litre. Now, the price has increased to Rs 21.8 per litre. The next fishing season will start from June 1. |
| Each trawler consumes about 15,000 litre of diesel on a 30-day voyage. Normally, each trawler goes on 6-8 voyages in a year depending on the shrimp catch and weather conditions. |
| Visakhapatnam is the headquarter for deep sea fishing industry in the country and of the 60 trawlers operating in the country, about 55 operate from Visakhapatnam only. |
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