Many professionals from the marine fuel sector meet these days at the forum organized by IBIA – International Bunker Industry Association.
The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has celebrated in London, on 24th and 25th February, different meetings and events on the occasion of the “IP Week” International Petroleum Week and, more specifically, on the bunkering industry. This event counts on managers of companies that supply fuel to ships, supply agents, terminal operators, ship agents, maritime professionals etc….
Executives of the Port Authority of Ceuta headed by its President Juan Manuel Doncel, attend as members of this association together with other companies based in the Port of Ceuta, cooperating and participating in the workshops / meetings and traffic promotion of Bunkering in our port.
Some companies such as Petrolífera Dúcar, Cepsa Bunker, Vilma Oil, ship agents and port services accompanied by the Port Authority in these meetings, have attended, participated and established contacts and new business lines with executives of the oil companies, supply agents, operators, international experts and international executives of the sector, an influential group when it comes to making final decisions in the operations of vessel calls in ports.
Otherwise, the Port Authority announced the starting of a second barge that is operating in the port of Ceuta. The ship “Spabunker Sixty” has arrived at the Port of Ceuta to operate with CEPSA as a fuel supply vessel for ships that are anchored in the bay. The port commercial policy and the participation of Cepsa in this business made it possible to double the capacity of fuel supply in the bay.
With this new incorporation, there are already two barges operating in the port of Ceuta. This new barge with 64 meters in length is similar to the “Spabunker Forty”, which is currently in service in our port. The “Spabunker Sixty” is one of the newest of the “Spabunker” series, built in the Unión Valencia Naval Shipyard. It came into service in 2008 and it is a double-hulled barge with a capacity for 2,300 tons of Fuel Oil and 700 tons of diesel.
In this sense, it is estimated that this activity will increase the supply in 40 or 50 more vessels per month. It is a great effort made by the professionals of the Port Authority together with Cepsa so as to attract and increase this traffic, carrying out the necessary steps to achieve this objective through the increase of supplies in the bay, which implies an increase in traffic and, therefore, an improvement in the results and competitiveness of the port of Ceuta.
This work has shown the work carried out since the last meeting held last year, where the commitments acquired by the Port Authority with the operators and the necessary infrastructure investments have favoured the port of Ceuta to close the fiscal year 2019 with 772,000 tons of fuel and an increase of 5% in comparison with the previous year.
To conclude, the Port Authority of Ceuta wants to thank the companies of the port community that have participated and moved from our city: José Salama & Cía, Incargo, Ibérica Marítima Ceuta, Marin-e Shipping Agency, Amarres Ceuta, and Marítima del Estrecho Ceuta, for the firm commitment and collaboration with the Port Authority in all matters related to the sector.