Ship chandlers & ship supply at Gibraltar GIGIB

The Gibraltar Port Authority, established in 2005, monitors and controls all vessel movements in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, licenses port operations and regulates bunkering and ship-to-ship operations; its VTS is staffed 24 hours. The authority counts about 60,000 vessels transiting the Strait each year and calls Gibraltar the largest bunkering port in the Mediterranean.^[1]

—Traffic in 2024 (official statistics): 9,454 vessels and 284.65 million GT. On the western side that included 5,084 bunker calls, 184 cruise calls, 33 repair calls, 66 cargo calls and 2,333 “other” calls — crew changes, provisions, stores, spares, lube oil, water, waste and slops, underwater cleaning and similar. The eastern side took 297 vessels and there were 49 commercial ship-to-ship operations.^[2]

—Berths: the Western Arm outer side is 490 m long with 9.6 m maximum draught for any length of ship; the inner side 450 m at 8.6 m for ships up to 300 m. The Detached Mole (605 m, 9.1 m) is used for lay-up and repair, and there are two 100 m general cargo berths. The tidal range is about one metre, and cruise ships can be alongside within an hour of leaving the main lanes.^[3]

—Ships calling for bunkers or water can be berthed on both sides of the Western Arm. Territorial waters extend three nautical miles and to the median line in the Bay of Gibraltar.^[4,5]

Bunkers are normally delivered by barge while the ship is at anchor in Gibraltar Bay, and can also be delivered alongside. Operations follow the port’s Bunkering Code of Practice and are monitored by GPA Bunkering Superintendents; Gibraltar is an associate member of Oil Spill Response Ltd.^[6,7]

—Licensing: under the Port (Amendment) Rules 2019 a “Licensed Bunker Barge” is a vessel licensed by the Gibraltar Port Authority to supply fuel to ships, and bunkering itself needs an annual Bunkering Licence. Ship chandlery, ship agency, service craft and waste operators each need their own GPA licence.^[8]

—LNG: Peninsula was licensed as an LNG bunkering operator in 2023 with the 12,500 m³ Levante LNG; Shell began offering LNG bunkering at Gibraltar in 2021 (trade press).^[9]

—Sulphur: no ship at berth in the port of Gibraltar may use marine fuel above 0.1% sulphur by mass, and fuel change-over times must be logged.^[5]

—Pilotage is compulsory on arrival and for berthing, unberthing and shifting anchorage; ships at anchor may leave without a pilot. Pilots normally board 1.25 miles south-west of Europa Point, and also board ships doing provisioning or crew transfers while moving slowly in the bay. The Pilotage Regulations 2016 put the pilot boarding point at 36°06.00′N 005°22.00′W, and a ship requesting a tug must also take a pilot.^[10,11]

—The VTS has run 24/7 across territorial waters since 2011 with radar, AIS and thermal CCTV, and ships are required to give pre-arrival notification.^[12]

—GIBREP: the Strait’s mandatory reporting system (IMO MSC.300(87), in force 1 December 2010) covers 005°58′W to 005°15′W. Ships of 300 GT and over, ships with hazardous cargo and tows report — westbound to TARIFA TRAFFIC on VHF 10 when crossing 005°15′W, eastbound to TANGIER TRAFFIC on VHF 69 at 005°58′W. Ships carrying more than 5,000 t of bunker fuel report the quantity.^[13]

—MARPOL waste: reception runs under the GPA Port Waste Management Plan (V3.0), with oily waste taken by barge or mobile tanker, garbage in approved receptacles and sewage by tanker, all on 24 hours’ notice. The waste declaration must be in the GPA system at least 24 hours before arrival in territorial waters. The fee scheme’s free discharge of Annex I and Annex V waste applies only at the Western anchorage; the Eastern anchorage carries extra barging charges. A port circular on increased MARPOL fees from 26 October 2026 is listed.^[14,15,16]

—Customs: a ship arriving with cargo delivers an inward manifest to Customs within 24 hours.^[4]

—Provisions, stores, spares, crew changes and water are part of the everyday “other” calls in the bay. Post a requirement and suppliers serving Gibraltar answer with sealed bids; suppliers never see the vessel’s name until award. If you serve ships in the bay, activate Gibraltar. Across the bay, the Spanish port has its own Algeciras guide.^[2]