Malaysia has officially launched the duty-exempted Maharani Freeport with a focus on providing various maritime services, including bunkering.

The development is being led by Maharani Energy Gateway (MEG) and has been designated a national project by the government, MEG said in a statement on its website on Saturday.

MEG says the freeport will offer oil trading, storage, blending, ship-to-ship transfers and bunkering.

“Maharani Freeport is a bold and transformative project,” Dato Daing A. Malek Bin Daing A. Rahaman, executive chairman of MEG, said.

He added that Maharani Freeport is already operational.

“It is already doing business, conducting oil trading, storage, transhipment, blending and mixing, and facilitating other services such as bunkering, marine, deep seaport, floating storage unit, ship-to-ship transfer for our customers and partners,” Rahaman said.

The project is located in Muar on Johor’s west coast, within the Muar Port limits on the Strait of Malacca.