Bullen Bay
Bullen Bay is an open and spacious bay located on the Southwest coast of Curaçao, eight miles northwest of Willemstad. At this bay, the biggest vessels can enter safely. Built by Royal Dutch Shell, it is now partly leased and operated by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA as a storage and supply facility for the Emmastad refinery. Transshipment of crude and products are also carried out from this bay. The terminal was built to facilitate economical transshipments of 1,200,00 b/d of Eastern Hemisphere crude arriving in “Very Large Crude Carriers” for storage and subsequent carriage by smaller ships to draft restricted U.S. ports. Crude can be transported from the storage tanks through pipelines to the refinery in the Port of Willemstad. Bunkering and underwater cleaning are also available at Bullen Bay.
Navigation
Pilot: Compulsory, Pilots are provided by Willemstad.
Tugs: Compulsory, Two tugs are stationed in the terminal.
Anchorage: There is no anchorage in the bay.
Tidal range & flow: Range 0.8m
Principal navigation aids: Leading lights and lighthouse.
Restrictions: No normal navigation restriction.
Berths & Facilities
Berths: Bullen Bay has 3 V.L.C.C. T-shaped jetties. The largest jetty is only 110m offshore and can accommodate vessels up to 70.000 DWT.
Storage Facilities: Crude oil, fuel oil and products terminal. Total capacity is 17,750,000 barrels. There are facilities to store and transship heavy, heated crude and fuel oil. The storage consists of three tanks of 375,000 barrels capacity each. The maximum storage temperature is 90°C. The system is able to provide segregated storage for different grades.
Barges: Available from Willemstad on request.
Bunker Facilities: There is equipment for all grades of fuel available at a rate of 3,800 barrels per hour.
Fresh water: also available at the piers.
Ballast/slop reception: Deballasting and slop reception facilities available.