The international arrangement of Cape Town being an official gateway city to Antarctica is generating substantial economic benefits for the mother city, and has the potential for exponential foreign investment.

Cape Town’s proximity to Antarctica, sophisticated infrastructure, wealth of commercial, educational and industrial activities, large working harbour with one of the world’s largest dry docks and high level of technical support, mean that the city has become increasingly popular as a service provider to vessels headed to Antarctica and back.

The Port of Cape Town has 34 berths including large dry docks, six deep-sea berths, serviced by post-panamax gantry cranes, and a multi-purpose terminal to handle fruit, steel, maize, coal, and other cargo and dedicated cold storage.
For more about the port facilities from Wesgro, click here.

Which countries does Cape Town supply Antarctica related services to?
South Africa’s polar research vessel, the SA Agulhas, ferries teams and supplies from Cape Town to its base in Antarctica (SANAE) and bases on Marion and Gough islands. In addition to this Cape Town currently services the following eight countries for their Antarctic and South Sea expeditions by supplying their maritime and aviation requirements:
 

• Russia 
  
• Germany 
  
• Britain 
  
• Belgium 
  
• India 
  
• Norway 
  
• Sweden 
  
• Finland
  
  

What type of services does Cape Town supply?
 

• Docking 
  
• Ship management 
  
• Shipping agents 
  
• Freight handling 
  
• Repairs and maintenance at our state-of-the-art ship repairing facilities 
  
• Warehousing 
  
• Logistical services to Antarctica and Southern Ocean 
  
• Catering for Antarctic-bound research teams and tourists 
  
• Rescue operations and medical assistance 
  
• Waste handling 
  
• Aircraft services 
  
• Conferences about climate change and related topics 
  
• Hotel and hospitality services
  
  

What are some examples of revenue / potential revenue generated by Antarctic-related services?
 

• Polar vessels generally spend in excess of R7.5 million per annum on repairs to machinery coming back from Antarctica 
  
• Spend on bunker fuel alone (that the ships use to operate – not that is used to re-stock the bases), is in the region of R2.5m for the SA Agulhas, R7m for the Polar Stern and R14m for the Akademic Federov 
  
• The new British Antarctic Base was built mainly in Cape Town, at a cost of R260 million
  
  

The Wesgro report shows the import profile of the French South Antarctic Islands and highlights the opportunities for Cape Town as a supplying market for goods to Antarctica, whether to supply research expeditions or to refill the supplies to cruise ships en route.

The future of the fishing industry

The fishing industry is highly dependent upon the upwelling of cold Antarctic currents and the fish stocks they support, and the economic revenue they generate as a result. The fishing industry is just one of the reasons why it is crucial that Antarctica and the life it supports be conserved not only for Cape Town and South Africa, but for the entire world.