Cockett expands South African operations

The growth of Cockett Marine’s customer base in South Africa has seen it relocate its team to larger offices as part of its ongoing strategy to expand its trading and bunker supply operations in the region. The Cape Town office, managed by James Nash, is home to an expanded team of five, with plans to recruit further traders over the coming months. Working closely with Cockett Group’s head office in London, the South African team trades bunkers worldwide and has long standing relations with most of the large shipping operators serving south, east and west African trade routes. Commenting on the move, which will see the new offices double in size, James Nash, said: “This expansion is part of the Group’s ongoing growth and reflects our commitment to the South African market. “As part of the Grindrod Group and given our location, we are ideally placed to help bring together the obvious synergies that exist in terms of linking our expertise in trading with the physical supply and barging capabilities within the Group.” The team’s most recent recruit is Adam Lutzno, a trader previously based in Singapore and Dubai with an extensive background in risk management within the bunker market. Karl Beeson, Managing Director at Cockett Group, said: “In the last year we have seen a further increase in the level of business we are doing through our Cape Town office, which is the result of our commitment to our customers in terms of quality of service and price, but also down to the team we have built in South Africa. “As part of the Grindrod Group we have also extended our offering to now include a bunkers-only physical supply service operating in the English Channel, which our South African office is also helping to promote. In today’s competitive global shipping marketplace, if you stand still you quickly get overtaken, and we are determined that won’t happen to Cockett Marine.” James Nash and the team at Cockett Marine can be contacted via email: [email protected], on tel: +27 (0)21 422 1111, or by visiting Suite 605 Buitenkloof Studios, 8 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town 8001.