Stena happy with IMO II activities

THE BIG ISSUE

DESIGN • STENA BULK’S ENTRANCE INTO THE IMO II CHEMICAL TANKER SECTOR HAS PAID OFF, WITH ITS FLEET FINDING A MARKET AND DELIVERING GOOD OPERATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL RESULTS

STENA BULK HAS expressed its pleasure with the way its foray into the chemical tanker business has turned out. “Utilisation of and entry into the chemicals market has gone better than expected, and we have secured a good market position that we are continuing to build on,” says Erik Hånell, president and CEO. “We have achieved this through not only our hard work in marketing, but also through operational performance”

Stena Bulk has had its fleet of 13 ‘IMOIIMAX’ vessels – all 50,000 dwt MR tankers – on the market for a year now. Evaluation of the fleet’s performance shows that they have been successful both in terms of performance and business.

The 13 sister vessels, built between 2015 and 2018, trade in one of Stena Bulk’s global logistics systems, which focuses on refined petroleum products, vegetable oils and chemicals. They are part of a 60-strong fleet operated from Stena Bulk’s new office in Copenhagen, supported by offices in Singapore, Houston and Dubai and the head office in Gothenburg.

BUILT WITH THOUGHT “It’s now been just over four years since we took delivery of our first vessel in the IMOIIMAX series and the vessels have performed beyond our expectations,” says Hånell. “Both the technical and the commercial concepts have proved to be very successful and have set a new standard for cargo efficiency and bunker consumption.

“The IMOIIMAX fleet is a significant and competitive addition to our high-quality fleet. At the same time, it is an important step forward and a development of our existing sophisticated trading system,” adds Hånell.

The IMOIIMAX vessel concept was designed with a focus on flexibility and is a further development of an already well-established concept, the company says. The innovative technical design was developed by Stena Bulk and Stena Teknik together with the Chinese shipyard GSI. It offers several advantages such as extra-large cargo flexibility, a high level of safety and economical fuel consumption.

The tankers are configured with 18 cargo tanks, each with a maximum capacity of 3,000 m³ to fit in with chemical tanker regulations. This also provides for good flexibility in terms of cargo combinations.

The tanks have a Jotun Flexline coating, which means that they can also be cleaned easily and can switch quickly between different cargoes to serve different markets. Furthermore, the IMOIIMAX tanker’s cargo flexibility and ability to quickly clean the cargo tanks for different cargoes maximises its capacity utilisation rate.

“The vessels perform well in terms of speed and bunker consumption. Additionally, in respect of loading, transport, discharging and tank cleaning, the design has technically performed above expectations,” concludes Hånell.

Aside from efficient tank cleaning and flexibility in cargo handling, the IMOIIMAX vessels were designed with a number of other advanced features to reduce fuel consumption. They have main engine autotuning, a highly efficient boiler with heat recovery from multiple sources, and an aerodynamic design for the accommodation block and bridge. In addition, propeller energy loss can be recovered and the ships are fitted with onboard nitrogen generation. HCB www.stenabulk.com

THE IMOIIMAX CONCEPT, APPLYING WELL-DESIGNED AND

EFFICIENT MR TANKERS TO THE CHEMICALS SECTOR, IS