Southern Africa Branch

IBIA Southern Africa held an Advanced Operations & Technical Course on 26 and 27 May 2010
at the
Cape Town Convention Centre.

This was not as well attended as had been hoped, but the following eight delegates (including two from Mocambique) were able to attend :-

Coswell Arnold of Kepu Bunkering & Supply
Susie Ziehl of Kepu Bunkering & Supply
Jade Karreman of S.A. Bunkering & Trading
Jean Richmond of S.A. Bunkering & Trading
Melissa Hendricks of Wilhelmsen Premier Marine Fuels
Neceba Nkasela of BP Southern Africa
Edu Mahumane of Petromoc
Moises Alberto of Petromoc

The first day of the course consisted of an Operations Module and we were fortunate to have Capt. Dennis Henwood, Master Mariner Consultant and Mr. Ron Caris, Managing Director of RNC Ship's Agency as presenters. In the evening the delegates were entertained at Pepenero's Restaurant at Sea Point.

The second day of the course consisted of a visit to the Joint Bunkering Services installation at the Port of Cape Town in the morning. This was both interesting and informative for the delegates. During the afternoon, a Commercial Module was presented by Mr. Andre Baard of S.A. Bunkering & Supply. This was followed by the presentation of the Technical Module by Mr. Pierre Malherbe of Engen Petroleum.

Annual General Meeting

The IBIA Southern Africa Branch held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 20 October 2009 at the Cape Town Hotel School Restuarant, Granger Bay at 17h30 for 18h00.

Invites were sent to Members and Interested Parties.

Programme:

17h30 - Welcome Refreshment

18h00 Guest Speaker: Dr Martyn Davies "The Influence of China in Africa"

19h00 Dinner

Click here to view Invite

Letters received from two learners that attended the IBIA One-Day Basic Bunker Course, Cape Town

Letter from Louve Soule - Simon's Town School, Cape Town

Words cannot express the gratitude that I have, learning about the maritime industry is exciting but learning about it within a room filled with people who specialise in their fields was a bit intimidating at first but seeing the friendliness made everything easier. I now realise more than ever that the maritime department is the best place I could ever be in.

I would just like to say putting students such as myself with people who are already in the industry is a very good idea because it gave us a chance to interact with the different kinds of people who work in the different fields.

It's said that you can take a person's clothes away or their freedom but one thing cannot be taken away is the person's knowledge and that I am grateful for. The bunker course was an eye opener for me because it's something I was never exposed to, it was very educating and informative and it really puts me at an advantage and I owe it all to you. As I said at the start of my letter, words cannot express how I feel but I'll have to settle with a sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it very much. Thank you.

Letter from Phile Nagqabi - Simon's Town School, Cape Town

Greetings, this is Phile Nagqabi from Simon's Town High School who took part in the Bunkering Course.

I would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to take part in the bunkering course, as it was the most overwhelming and productive presentations I have ever been to.

The knowledge that I gained there will be of use in the future and at the moment at school. I found the course very interesting and above words of explanation. I hope it wont stop, so to help everybody who aspires to join the bunkering industry one day.

I really enjoyed myself during those two days because I learned a lot, and also experienced the pressure brokers, traders and suppliers have to go through each and every day, which had an impact on my decision to join the Shipping Industry one day. One of the main core aspects from these lessons I learned was respect.

With these words, I thank you.

IBIA Southern Africa was formed as a chapter of IBIA in 1999. The main reason for this action was to endeavour to uplift the standard of all South African traders through education and seminars and to create a forum for discussion between traders, suppliers and allied services.

IBIA Southern Africa has fourteen members but efforts are currently being made to increase this number.

At annual general meetings, members elect an executive committee from among their number to see to the day-to-day running of the branch's affairs.

UPDATED EXECUTIVE COMMITTE AS AT 30 October 2008

Shanaaz Bennett - Wilhelmsen Premier Marine Fuels
Rob Gardner - ISS Voigt Shipping
Gert Nell - Bominflot South Africa
Gerad Singh - Smit Amandla Marine
Patrick Holloway - Webber Wentzel
Mr. Colin Nicolson (Secretary/Treasurer)

During the nine years of its existence, IBIA Southern Africa has held a number of bunkering training courses, both basic and intermediate, for members and non-members in Cape Town and Durban. In addition, training courses have been held in Cape Town and Durban for the staff members of the local ship's agents.

"IBIA Southern Africa invited Mr. Bob Thornton of World Fuel Services to come to South Africa to talk to members and representatives of the local bunker fraternity. Mr. Thornton is an international industry expert, who is a member of various international bunker industry working groups including the ISO standards committee, BIMCO working group, CIMAC industry working group etc. His presentation on 17 October 2007 in Cape Town, covered topics such as the current and new legislation (MARPOL), new SECA areas and the future of low sulphur fuels. The presentation was well attended and besides being a first for IBIA SA, it also yielded the highest attendance (40 delegates) for any lunch time talk".

Denis Henwood (Master Mariner Consultant) (left) & Bob Thornton (World Fuel Services)	Shanaaz Bennett (Wilhelmsen Premier Marine) plus two attendees	Colin Nicolson (left) & Ian Grayston (Wilhelmsen Premier Marine)
View of the gathering from the back of the room	Left Colin Nicolson, Right Drikus Kotze (Engen Petroleum)	Left to Right - Nina Behr (World Fuel Services), Grant Bairstow (Smit Amandla) & Carien de Jager (World Fuel Services)

IBIA Southern Africa is presently talking to IBIA about the problem of the shrinkage in the South African Bunker Market. However, the most probable causes of the shrinkage are the high calling costs for vessels at South African ports and the fact that the South African National Port Authority has withdrawn the concession for Bunkers only callers.

IBIA Southern Africa has close links with the Maritime Sections of the Simon's Town High School and the New Forest High School in Durban. An annual award is made to the most promising student at these schools. Two free places on bunker training courses are offered to students from both schools.

The report below is from two pupils from the Simons' Town Maritime School (called learners in the New South Africa) who attended the recent BBC.

SIMON'S TOWN SCHOOL
MARITIME STUDIES DEPARTMENT
P.O. Box 38, Simon's Town 7995, South Africa
Telephone : South Africa [+21+] 7861056
Fax : South Africa [+21+] 7861065

REPORT: IBIA ONE-DAY BASIC BUNKERING COURSE

It was a privilege to attend this course to learn about bunkering of ships. In our Maritime Studies Course at Simon's Town School, we learn about the uses of ships' fuels, and calculate the cost of fuel used during a voyage, but the IBIA course widened our knowledge of the bunker industry. It gave us a broader perspective of this international industry and showed us the wide range of people who are involved in the industry.

We learnt about the process that a bunker trader would follow to sell bunkers, and we learnt a lot through a game that we played during the course. We were divided into groups and played the roles of traders and the brokers so that we could see how the industry operates.

It was a day filled with learning and meeting young people who are making it in the maritime industry. It also helped in thinking about our future careers in the industry and showed us part of the industry that we otherwise might not have considered for a career.

We thank those who invited us to go to the course, and also all who made us feel so welcome that day.

BUKELWA GQEBA & MUSA MBAKAZA
Grade 11 Learners
Maritime Studies Department
Simon's Town School