BEE FIRMS CLINCH BUNKER BARGES CONTRACT

11 February 2008

In a deal worth some USD 75 million over five years, two BEE barge operators are to take over the supply of bunker fuel to ships in the port of Durban for SAPREF. Presently about 60% of bunker fuel is supplied by pipeline in the port and the contracts will enable a move to full bunker barge delivery. This follows previous notification from the National Port Authority and South African Port Operator (NPA/SAPO) that the use of pipelines for delivering bunkers in the Container Terminal and New Pier would cease.

Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd and Unicorn Calulo Bunker Services (Pty) Ltd were the successful bidders and will provide barges to supply ships with bunker fuel in the port of Durban. The contracts, with a combined value of USD 75 million, will run for a period of five years, with the option of extensions thereafter amounting to a further USD 75 million. SAPREF will manage the contracts on behalf of BP, Shell and Engen and will supply about two million metric tons of bunker fuel per year to ships in Durban.

In commenting on the contracts, SAPREF’s MD Bart Voet said: “We encourage our contractors to migrate towards BEE compliance and I am pleased to say that both these companies are compliant with the new BBBEE Code of Good Practice.”

Other benefits emanating from the move to full bunker barge delivery are the improved ability to manage safety and environmental risks during bunkering, and improvement in the rate of delivery of bunkers. Additionally, the new barges will fulfill the MARPOL Annex I requirement for double hull barges for bunker fuel delivery. MARPOL (regulations legislated by the International Maritime Organisation) provides regulation for the phasing out of single hull tankers carrying fuel oil.

The barges have been built to international standards, one of which was built in Durban with the objective of resurrecting local ship building business and supporting skills development in the shipping industry.

SMIT Amandla Marine’s locally built bunker barge ‘SMIT LiPuma’, has been designed with maximum fuel carrying requirements in mind. The barge will be able to deliver bunkers at rates of up to 1000 tonne/hr. Characterised by maneuverability, safety features and the capacity to carry some 5000 tonnes of marine fuel (fuel oil, gas oil and diesel oil), the ‘SMIT LiPuma’ epitomises the latest in international barge design. Features inherent in the design of the barge include diesel-electric propulsion, closed loop loading, a bunker gantry and wheelhouse control of the whole cargo operation. Barge master and crew are an experienced team drawn from SMIT Amandla Marine’s existing bunker delivery operation.

The Unicorn Calulo bunkering barges, better described as miniature tankers, represent probably the most advanced vessels of the type afloat today. They embody many “big ship” features of the latest Unicorn series of high-specification oil/chemical tankers. Specified by Unicorn Shipping to meet or exceed current and envisaged tanker safety legislation, the barges have been robustly built and properly-equipped to provide many years of safe around-the-clock operations within the tight confines of a busy harbour environment. 

Margaret Rowe SAPREF 031 480 1892 / 082 880 4905 Margaret.rowe@sapref.com

Clare Gomes SMIT Amandla Marine 021 507 5777/082 909 2025 c.gomes@smit.com

Russell Burns Unicorn Calulo Bunker Services 031 302 7225 / 083 303 3258

Notes to editors :

SAPREF is jointly owned by Shell SA Energy and BP Southern Africa. It is Southern Africa’s largest crude oil refinery with a refining capacity of 8.5 million tonnes a year. SAPREF’s facilities are of national strategic importance. They include the refinery in the South Durban Basin, storage facilities in the harbour at Island View, a single buoy mooring (SBM) where tankers offload about 80 percent of South Africa’s crude oil imports and the joint bunkering services operated on behalf of various petroleum companies. SAPREF manufactures about 30 percent of South Africa’s petrol and makes a variety of other petroleum products including diesel, paraffin, aviation fuel, liquid petroleum gas and marine fuel oil.

In the niche market of specialist marine services, SMIT Amandla Marine has a respected track record in South Africa where it employs over 600 South Africans. The black empowered company operates out of Cape Town, Durban, Richard’s Bay, Port Nolloth and Mossel Bay, where it is well placed to provide strategic support to its clients. The company’s service activities include in-port bunker delivery, the management of offshore tanker terminals and provision of related subsea services, environmental protection, marine emergency response support, ocean and coastal towage, offshore support and supply and vessel management.

Unicorn Calulo Bunkering Services (Pty) Limited is owned 74,9% by Unicorn, a wholly owned subsidiary of Grindrod Limited, with the balance held by Calulo Services a subsidiary of Calulo Petrochemicals. Unicorn Calulo Bunker Services will own and operate bunker barges in South African ports delivering bunker fuels to the maritime industry. Unicorn and Calulo have a further equal-share joint venture, Unicorn Calulo Shipping (Pty) Limited, to operate shipping services on the Southern African coast focusing predominantly on the tanker market. An order for a third identical bunkering barge has been placed with the Durban shipyard, Dormac.