FFS records 25% tonnage growth ALAN PEAT DURBAN IS busier with bunkering ships than it has been for some time, according to Phil Harris, GM of bunker barge specialists, FFS. “We’ve been noting an increase in bunkering here, with our tonnages having gone up appreciably – at least 25%,” he told FTW. “I can’t talk for the pipeline, but I can only presume we’re all busier.” The reasons for the jump in ships’ heavy fuel oil demand are four-fold. First is Cape Town losing popularity amongst the shipping lines. Part of this, Harris said, was because the old pipeline had closed down – leaving only barge bunkering – and also because of a problem in the city with refinery output. “There was an element of uncertainty about supply,” he added, “and Durban has been seen as an alternative.” Harris also attributes the increase in demand in Durban to the fact that the container ships are tending to turn around in Durban rather than Cape Town on the SA-Europe trade. “Durban has also been an increasingly busy port in recent times, according to surveyors and others in the shipping industry I’ve talked to,” he said. “And, if the port is very busy, that means more ships are going through – and that, in turn, naturally pushes up the demand for fuel oil.” A final selling point for the port as a bunkering stop is that prices are competitive. Durban is also currently going through the beneficial part of its now historic feast-or-famine cycle. “The refineries have been pumping out much more black oil,” said Harris, “and we haven’t been suffering from any shortages recently.” Phil Harris … busier than ever.
