... as truce is reached over
its purchase, writes Terry Hutson
THE REMAINING two protagonists in the local bunker war have agreed on a truce with FFS Bunkers purchasing the disputed bunker barge Durban Servicer for a sum of about R3 million (FTW February 9, 2001).
This is a far cry from the sort of numbers that were bandied about amidst court interdicts preventing the sale of the barge by Ugumac Marine, which subsequently went into liquidation after both FFS Bunkers and Smit Pentow Marine both claimed to have an agreement of purchase.
The spat appears to be over for now, although one might expect things to hot up again once Smit Dudula's 'new' barge Dudula, currently under conversion from the flat barge Winbuild in Cape Town, makes its way to Richards Bay. This is likely to be in late July or early August. Until now FFS Bunkers has enjoyed exclusivity in the port as far as barge bunkering is concerned.
In the meantime, FFS Bunkers has agreed to place Durban Servicer, which will be renamed FFS Pelican, in Cape Town for a minimum period of two years, and the barge should be in service by mid August. The company has appointed Dennis Henwood as branch manager in the Mother City and Mike Irwin, formerly of Unicorn Lines, as engineering superintendent, based in Durban.
Smit Pentow is on record as saying they will not provide a barge in Cape Town for as long as they have to compete with the existing pipeline bunker service.
This leaves the situation stable in Durban, for now, with three barges operating in Durban - Pentow Energy and Marine Excellence, which is owned by Smit Pentow and is on contract to BP Marine for the delivery of marine lubricants, and FFS Bunkers' diminutive Stanley. Durban Servicer has been taken out of the equation, BUT - keep watching this space - FTW has heard a whisper that a new barge may show its face in the port before too long!
