4 March 2022 will be remembered as a special day in the Rubis Asphalt South Africa calendar. Our vessel Viveka arrived at the Cape Town Harbour with approx. 4800MT grade of bitumen 50/70. This delivery is important to us, because it is the first import of bitumen into land-based tanks in Cape Town.
Rubis Asphalt South Africa have entered into a lease agreement with FFS Refiners for the rental of 2 bulk storage tanks at their storage facility at the Eastern Mole in the Cape Town harbour. These 2 tanks, each approx. 2400MT, were originally designed for the storage of bitumen but were eventually converted to fuel oil. Through our impulsion, FFS decided to convert the tanks back into bitumen storage and following a tender process, we were named as the successful bidder.
We have a dedicated loading bay for bitumen, so we are able to offer our customers in the Western, Southern and even Eastern Cape town, hot bitumen “upon request”.
The facility is available 6 days a week and we have seen positive growth in volumes as a result. Our view for this lease agreement is as a necessary step in ensuring that our customers have peace of mind regarding availability of bitumen in the region.
Given the change in the bitumen supply landscape in South Africa, both FFS and ourselves view this as the beginning of a long-term strategic partnership which will hopefully see this being the first of many cargos being supplied into these tanks in Cape Town. Plans are already in place for our next shipment, in May 2022, which we will be offering both 50/70 and 70/100 grades.
