PetroSA does not have a traditional onshore "docking station" for large tankers in Mossel Bay because the harbour is draft-restricted. Instead, tankers use two offshore mooring facilities located in the bay to transfer petroleum products through an undersea pipeline to land Offshore Loading Facilities
The primary "stations" for tankers are:
Single Point Mooring (SPM): A large yellow floating buoy located 1.5 nautical miles offshore from Voorbaai. It is the main facility for importing diesel and condensate and exporting petrol and kerosene to other South African ports.
Conventional Buoy Mooring (CBM): Situated roughly 1,000 metres inshore of the SPM, this older facility also services the petroleum industry via subsea pipelines.
Onshore Infrastructure
These offshore points connect to PetroSA's land-based facilities:
The Voorbaai Tank Farm
Located behind the Langeberg Mall area, this site acts as the final storage for finished products and intermediate storage for imports.
Located approximately 15km from the harbour, the refinery processes the imported condensate and indigenous gas into liquid fuels
During offloading, a tugboat is typically attached to the back of the tanker to maintain a straight line while fuel is pumped through the subsea pipes.