Ensuring security of bitumen supply

Bitumen is now more widely available to the Western Cape market after a landmark partnership agreement between FFS Refiners and Rubis Asphalt South Africa.

The agreement has already seen the arrival of the first bulk bitumen import into land-based tanks. The first shipment arrived on 3 March at the Port of Cape Town and was met with a welcome celebration.

Prior to FFS Refiners setting up landbased tanks for direct offload, bitumen was offloaded from the shipping vessel via a mobile gantry into a truck tanker or bitutainer. Now, FFS Refiners provides Rubis with reliable and safe bitumen storage and handling under a 12-month agreement, which includes the rental of 4 700 m3 of tank storage at FFS Refiners’ facility in the Port of Cape Town.

“We believe this is the start of a great partnership, which we hope will last for years to come. This discharge marks the first time that we’re discharging directly into these tanks from the vessel Viveka from the Eastern Mole quayside,” says Wilhelm Wasserman of the Marine Services Division at FFS. “With current shifts in the petrochemicals landscape in South Africa, we are ready to rise to any occasion.”

FFS Refiners specialises in various hydrocarbon solutions, operating in the fields of industrial energy, base oils, marine fuels, waste recovery, coal-derived products and tank terminals such as those rented by Rubis Asphalt South Africa.

Comments Mark Simonsen, commercial manager at Rubis Asphalt: “South Africa has a world-class national road network, and our product helps ensure this infrastructure can be extended and maintained.”

Handling and quality control

Rubis is importing with ‘peace of mind’, knowing that FFS is handling the viscous material in a way that is safe, economical and compliant with the relevant regulations.

The first shipment of bitumen arrived on 3 March at the Port of Cape Town

“Offloading bitumen is no simple task. Before you can even think about discharging the fluid, standard operating procedures must be followed,” Wasserman explains.

“Pipelines must be heated, and pressuretested. Independent surveyors undertake quality assurance on the product, and our team works with the vessel captain to ensure a smooth process. We have dedicated teams who work together to ensure that health, safety and compliance are top of mind,” he continues.

“This 12-month agreement is a great addition to our Marine Services Division, and we hope to see more opportunities such as this in the future. To this end, we plan to expand to Durban, where work has started on new bulk storage tanks for bulk bitumen imports. With this move, we hope to be in time to support the industry through what is anticipated to be a difficult supply environment,” Wasserman adds.

Ongoing investment into FFS Refiners’ processes and quality control systems ensures that products meet and exceed specifications and industry standards. All FFS Refiners’ facilities have fully equipped ISO 9001 accredited laboratories to monitor and control quality.