Fuel stops
Maingate Shipping acts as agent for bunker-only calls at Cape Town: the port notification, the anchorage or berth, the barge or supply tanker's timing, the surveyors and the bunker delivery note, with crew, spares, provisions and cash fitted into the same stop. Our partner agent at the port attends; the Mombasa desk coordinates and reports.
Vessels pass Cape Town on the routes that make it a bunkering stop, and the desk's job is to have the fuel alongside when the vessel arrives and the vessel gone when the hoses are off. Cape Town is Table Bay at the south-western tip of Africa, on the Cape sea route; winter swell and south-easterly winds delay berthing and cargo work, and the port serves as a repair and supply stop for fishing fleets, offshore units and vessels rounding the Cape.
Maingate Shipping acts for the receiving vessel, for the supplier or trader, or for both under written roles, and combines the stop with crew, spares, provisions and cash to master so that one anchorage visit does the work of several.
Quantity is protected by attendance: surveyors appointed by the owner at the soundings and sampling, the delivery note witnessed, protests recorded before the barge lets go.
Once the stem is fixed, the desk's work at Cape Town is timing: the port's permission window, the supply vessel's availability and the vessel's arrival aligned so that the transfer starts within hours of the anchor going down. The notification, the position and the supplier's confirmation are all in writing before the vessel arrives.
The master receives the delivery plan, the supplier's contact and the surveyor's name before the vessel is off the port.
At Cape Town the barge comes alongside at the berth, and anchorage deliveries are arranged where the port permits them. The desk fixes the mode with the supplier, obtains the permission and books the equipment.
Connection, opening soundings, pumping, closing soundings and disconnection are attended and timed by the boarding officer, so that the account shows what happened.
Surveyors appointed by the owner attend the delivery and issue their quantity report. Where the vessel's figures and the supplier's figures differ, a letter of protest is issued and recorded before the barge lets go. The desk keeps the samples' custody documentation with the delivery note.
For traders and suppliers appointing the desk, the same attendance serves their side of the delivery, with the roles set out in writing.
A bunker call is the moment to change crew, land spares, take provisions and deliver cash to master, and the desk fits these into the same stop through Cape Town International Airport and by launch. Nothing waits for a separate visit.
The account shows the port charges, the agency fee, the launch hire and the services delivered, each with its receipt, and reconciles against the advance.
From anchor down to anchor up, the time is set by the quantity and the barge's pumping rate; the desk gives an estimate for each stem and keeps the vessel informed of the barge's movements.
Yes, with the roles written down so that each party knows whose instruction the desk follows for each task.
The owner's surveyor's figures are compared with the delivery note on the spot and a letter of protest is issued before the barge leaves; the desk keeps the documents for the claim.
Crew, spares, provisions, cash to master and medical attention, by the same launch or at the same berth.
Nominate Maingate Shipping and the answer comes from Mombasa with a proforma DA attached.
Desks that go with a fuel stop at Cape Town.
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Maingate Shipping Limited · Express Building, Moi Avenue, Mombasa, Kenya · ops@maingateshipping.com · +254 784 622 091