The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has called on the South African government to realise the potential of the ship refuelling market in its ports and the impact this will have in supporting regeneration. Speaking at the recent African Ports Evolution conference in Cape Town, IBIA chief executive Peter Hall told delegates that whilst more than double the number of vessels move around the Cape of Good Hope than transit the Straits of Gibraltar, the South African bunkering market has declined whilst Gibraltar’s continues to grow. Last year around 600 ships a day moved around South Africa, whilst the volume of bunkers sold in Durban hit a twenty year low with 1.1m tonnes traded in 2012.
