HCB Magazine December 2020

M O N T H LY

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SEE IT THROUGH LOGISTICS PROVIDERS HELP THE WORLD GET THROUGH 2020 CONSOLIDATION IN CHEMICAL TANKERS BUILDING A HUB FOR CHEMICALS NEW IDEAS IN CHEMICAL PACKAGING

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D A N G E R O U S

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EDITOR’S LETTER

It is traditional at this time of year to reflect on the year about

So, as we look towards an eventual re-emergence into

to end and consider what might come in the next. That was

a re-normalised world some time in 2021, we all have to look

something I did in the December 2019 issue, running through

at how we will manage in a much more straitened economic

the growing environmental pressures and increasing calls for

environment. Many of the logistics sectors covered by HCB

greater sustainability in industrial activity.

have fared fairly well thus far, though they have had to cope

I finished that piece by saying: “One thing is clear: ‘business

with major changes in product flows – but then that is what

as usual’ is over and the future will be very different – although

logistics companies are trained to do. There are some

in what way is impossible to tell.”

companies that have suffered, mostly those exposed to the

I certainly did not expect a global pandemic to take over the

weakness in the upstream oil and gas sectors, where the

world, upturning expectations and plans, although the signs were

slump in demand for transport fuels caused prices to crash

there for those who had cared to look. The novel coronavirus had

earlier in 2020 and where activity is only now beginning to

already been identified in China – that’s why it’s Covid-19, not

pick up.

Covid-20 – and even before then there had been those warning of an imminent outbreak of a novel infectious disease.

Further, when we do eventually get back to ‘normal’ – whatever that will look like – there will still be the

In business terms, the airline industry, cruise operators and

underlying environmental factors to deal with. While the

the hospitality sector in general have suffered severely during

rest of us have spent 2020 focused very much on staying

the course of 2020. Demand for new cars and houses has slumped

alive and keeping the effects of the pandemic at bay, the

as individuals have revised their priorities and concentrated on

regulators and supra-national authorities have been busy

conserving cash and spending only on essentials. Businesses

beefing up their expectations of action on climate change.

themselves have taken a similar approach, delaying investment

Decarbonisation and sustainability are going to be the

plans and concentrating on the short term. Refinancing has been

themes of the coming years.

popular, particularly as interest rates have sunk to lows not seen for decades.

We now appear to be in the midst of the anticipated ‘second

It has been interesting to see over the past few months that the petrochemical industry and its logistics partners are beginning to take the transition seriously and we have seen

spike’ in infections, with further lockdowns and restrictions

plenty of examples of innovative projects and approaches,

imposed – largely in order to keep the demand on medical

especially in Europe. There will be more of that to come, and

facilities at a manageable level. Some have posited a ‘third spike’

in other areas of the globe. But, on the basis of what I said

yet to come, although it is hoped that research into a vaccine will

a year ago, I do not feel confident in making any more specific

help head that off. But it is clear that the economic impact of all

predictions. Enjoy the ride!

this mayhem will be massive.

Peter Mackay

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WILLIAM O’NEIL 1927-2020

William A O’Neil, secretary-general emeritus of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), died on 29 October at the age of 93.

O’Neil, a Canadian by birth, died at his home in the UK. He was secretary-general of IMO from 1990 to 2003 and led the organisation towards many significant improvements in maritime safety and environmental protection, playing a major role in ridding the world of substandard ships and shipping practices.

“Mr O’Neil was a truly great secretary-general whose actions and initiatives had a great and lasting impact on the work of the organisation,” said Kitack Lim, current IMO secretary-general.

“I, personally, always valued his guidance and advice, as well as his friendship and leadership. Mr O’Neil left a lasting legacy on the organisation. He was committed to the universality of IMO and oversaw a significant increase in membership. He encouraged wide and effective participation in the organisation from all stakeholders in the maritime sector.

“Above all, Mr O’Neil was dedicated to enabling developing states to adopt and implement IMO instruments, through his active pursuance of new sources of extra-budgetary funding.

And he worked tirelessly to strengthen the relevance and capacity of IMO’s educational institutes, the World Maritime University

phase-out of single-hull tankers. He laid the basis for the development of measures to prevent the spread of invasive species through ballast water.

Other landmark developments during O’Neil’s time leading IMO include the introduction of the mandatory International Safety Management Code, the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code and key 1997 revisions to the STCW Convention. O’Neil also established the Seafarers Memorial Fund, which paid for the public memorial that now stands outside the doors of IMO’s headquarters building in London.

O’Neil graduated in civil engineering from the University of Toronto and worked for the Canadian Department for Transport and the St Lawrence Seaway Authority before being appointed commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard in 1975. He had begun representing Canada at the IMO Council in 1972 and became chair of that body in 1980, being re-elected four times. From 1980 he was also president and CEO of the St Lawrence Seaway Authority, a position he held until 1990.

In 1991 O’Neil became chancellor of the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden and chair of the governing board of the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta.

The high regard in which O’Neil was held is evident from the awards

and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute.”

During his time as head of IMO, O’Neil acted firmly to address emerging safety issues, not least surrounding bulk carriers, large passenger ships and, following the loss of the ferry Estonia, ro-ro vessels. He also saw the adoption of Annex VI of the Marpol Convention, opening the door to IMO’s current activities in addressing shipboard emissions, as well as the accelerated

he received both during his tenure as IMO secretary-general and subsequently. He had honorary doctorates from four universities in Canada, the UK, Malta and South Korea, as well as medals, honorary orders and prizes from as far afield as Lebanon, Panama, Italy, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, the US, Canada and the UK. William O’Neil leaves a widow, Olga O’Neil, children and grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held once the coronavirus crisis has passed.

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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CONTENTS VOLUME 41

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NUMBER 11

UP FRONT Letter from the editor Obituary – William O’Neil 30 Years Ago Learning by Training TANKS & LOGISTICS Help on hand ITCO reports on rule changes Sustainability says ‘no’ STC disapproves of flexis Going global Cotac expands depot network Blowing hot and cold VTG adds temperature sensors The right chemistry Dachser’s links in warehousing Tread lightly A lighter tank from Van den Bosch Upsides, downsides Fort Vale reflects on a strange year News bulletin – tanks and logistics TANKER SHIPPING Joining forces Consolidation in chemical tankers Back in the swing Odfjell eyes normalisation Acid test HGK converts for Covestro Opening time

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Making headway in hydrogen shipping Live green and prosper Stena, Proman add to methanol plans Clean air act BW LPG starts LPG fuelling Low water mark Tough times for Kirby Corp News bulletin – tanker shipping

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STORAGE TERMINALS Coming together Tarragona hosts Med Hub Day online Gassing up Bidvest, Petredec open LPG terminal Keep it clean Stainless tanks for Maastank Smells like white spirit GPS adds to ethanol in Amsterdam Bring it on home UM Terminals centralises services Under control Vopak holds up well Green for go Power-to-methanol for North Sea Port News bulletin – storage terminals

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Bright ideas Greif introduces new concepts New and pre-used RIPA counts US reconditioning

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CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION Fit for the future Project Brenntag shaping up News bulletin – chemical distribution

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CONFERENCES Conference Diary

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SAFETY Incident Log Stem the tide The legal view of containership fires

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REGULATIONS Back in the old routine Joint Meeting gets to work on tanks

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BACK PAGE Not otherwise specified

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Editor–in–Chief Peter Mackay, dgsa Email: peter.mackay@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 7769 685 085

INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING Time to grow Time Technoplast arrives in the US Ticks all the boxes Recognition for Schütz IBC

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30 YEARS AGO A LOOK BACK AT DECEMBER 1990

HCB has written extensively over the past few years about the dangers posed by mis-declared and undeclared dangerous goods in the maritime supply chain, following a significant number of serious fires aboard containerships. Readers may perhaps be surprised to learn that this phenomenon is nothing new. Back in December 1990, Michael Newbery, claims director with the West of England P&I Club, wrote about the same subject, saying: “If only port and customs officials had X-ray eyes!”

One event that had prompted Newbery’s article was an incident aboard the containership Ever Group in Los Angeles earlier that year, when crew found noxious fumes coming from a container with drums of trimethyl phosphate. Although there were no injuries and little damage, the response caused the main container terminal at the port to be closed for 24 hours – a costly exercise. Newbery noted that some ports had begun to work together, using what were then new tools available through computerisation, but that – as ever – there were plenty of shippers willing to ignore the regulations in order to save time and money.

And, as now, it is very hard to bring those miscreants to justice, even

Elsewhere in the December 1990 issue, HCB reported that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had included the transport of chemicals in its new draft Convention on Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work, using the argument that training was not covered in the UN Orange Book, though the modal transport regulations such as ADR and RID and national administrations did recognise the need to provide some direction.

HCB also noted that, while the ILO Convention, adopted in June 1990, covered training for those dealing with chemicals both in the workplace and in transport, the risks posed to the two sets of workers are different: transport workers are only generally exposed to chemicals in the event of an accident and, therefore, only acute risks are relevant, whereas those who deal with chemicals on a regular basis in the workplace may need to be alert to chronic hazards.

There were plenty in the industry that felt it would be appropriate for the UN Model Regulations to contain provisions on training and the Hazardous Materials Advisory Council (HMAC, now DGAC) had put forward a proposal for consideration by the UN Sub-committee of Experts during its 1991-92 biennium. As HCB said at the time, such a move would enhance the

after a major incident. “I know of only one case in 20 years when a [P&I] club has succeeded in a counter-claim against a shipper indulging in misdeclaration,” he said, worried that, without an effective incentive to stop doing it, the problem would only get worse. “I am sure that real improvements in the present situation are within our grasp if we seek solutions at the all-important port gates,” he offered, although thirty years on, those improvements are still very hard to realise.

uniformity applied by the various modal authorities and enforcement agencies, while also providing guidance to those countries that had not as yet included training requirements within their national regulations.

HMAC’s proposal addressed three levels of training requirements: general awareness, function-specific training and commensurate safety training, though it did not foresee the idea of competency-based training and assessment.

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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LEARNING BY TRAINING

By Arend van Campen

SHRINKING THE TECHNOSPHERE

I hope that Dmitry Orlov won’t mind that I am borrowing the title of his book, but I wanted to express similar ideas and suggestions that he made in this amazing book. While 5G and other IT apps, drones and cameras may seem to simplify and speed up our lives, they also raise genuine concerns on dependency on the Grid, on electricity, power and on various rare earth materials such as coltan, lithium and cassiterite.

What it means in my view is that we may be eroding skills and interfering with the usual learning process of human beings.

We could end up with a society where people can only do what a manual tells them to do. When decision-making is outsourced to automated systems, algorithms or blockchain technology, human awareness, knowledge or skills may become obsolete, perhaps reduced to his or her ability to switch on a system only, without being able to switch it off again.

I am teaching an online course on Cyber Ethics for the Globethics Institute in Geneva and with my fellow lecturer and our students we often discuss the unnatural demand for more technology and ask ourselves whether such Artificial Intelligence - AI - can be programmed ethically. A valid question is this: would AI be able to do the ‘right thing’? We all doubt that very much. Can such systems replace human perception or interpretation without them having a conscience or a soul?

Orlov calls for a preparation without the Grid and that people must never forget how to survive without technology. I am a proponent of this realism. While we now can follow and see what is happening with our offshore pumping station or can see

our operators working in a control room in the desert from The Hague or London, we can’t truly control them should something go wrong. We have to rely on the people there, but what I observe AI is causing is a loss of trust. Can we have 100 per cent trust in automated systemic technology or shall we still train the people too?

I have noticed a drive towards maximum automation by marine storage terminals. Every year at the Tank Storage Awards ceremony it is a tech company that wins the prize. It seems that training and education focusing on human soft skills and practical ability is being grossly overlooked and may become insignificant. While millions are being invested in fully automated terminal systems, the knowledge of operating a terminal manually is being lost. This is not wise, because if AI ever loses power, it will stop functioning and thus will need people to take over again. But where are those people? Terminal managers are often skilled in automation, but perhaps have no clue how to line up a pipeline system manually. They give their loading masters computer tablets to fill in the blanks on digital safety checklists.

Perhaps it may work faster, but does it work better? Human beings created AI, but AI could take over any minute now.

This is the latest in a series of articles by Arend van Campen, founder of TankTerminalTraining. More information on the company’s activities can be found at www.tankterminaltraining.com. Those interested in responding personally can contact him directly at arendvc@ tankterminaltraining.com.

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HELP ON HAND TECHNICAL • THE REGULATORS ARE BACK AT WORK AND, ITCO SAYS, TANK CONTAINER OPERATORS NEED TO BE ALERT TO A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS THAT COULD HAVE AN IMPACT

In addition, the 2017 edition of ITCO’s Acceptable Container Condition (ACC) document is currently undergoing an editorial update; there will be no changes to the ACC criteria but some updates will be made to the formatting and text.

Members are invited to provide input.

BUSINESS GOES ON despite the Covid-19 crisis and, as ever, it continuously raises new questions, problems and issues. Trade associations, who aim to keep their members up to speed with developments and offer them solutions and advice, are, though, hampered by travel restrictions and other measures aimed at keeping the pandemic at bay. As a result, they have had to turn to innovative methods to keep their members informed.

The International Tank Container Organisation (ITCO) is one such association that has had to cancel its planned meetings and seminars this year; in response, it has organised a series of brief webinars on topics of concern. The first of these, held this past

presented by its technical secretary Colin Rubery. He explained that ITCO has been doing a lot of work in this field, building up a library of technical guidance; this aims to be a reference point and checklist for use by members, especially when dealing with their clients, who may not fully appreciate all the details of tank containers. That library now contains guidance on the transport of polymerising substances, sampling from tank containers, pressure-relief devices, working on top of tanks, safe entry into tank containers, and the ADR-RID Tank Codes.

Rubery also mentioned that a seventh guidance document is under consideration, to deal with end-of-life disposal and

REGULATORS AT WORK After the Covid-19 crisis caused the postponement or cancellation of regulatory meetings through the middle of 2020, the authorities have found means to continue to hold sessions in a virtual format, Rubery reported. So far it seems to be going pretty well, even to the point of raising questions as to whether the regulators will go back to holding their physical meetings in Geneva, Bern and elsewhere.

So new regulations are being discussed and drafted and industry needs to be aware of what those changes might mean. Rubery urged ITCO members to get involved at the national level and engage with their national authorities; after all, while ITCO attends the meetings and has a voice, it is the national authorities that

September, looked at sustainability issues and, in particular, what the tank container industry can do to head off the threat to its business posed by single-use plastics bags – flexitanks (HCB October 2020, page 62).

The second ITCO webinar was in effect a report from its Technical Working Group,

recycling of tank containers; once more, this is designed to highlight the recyclable nature of tank containers versus the disposable (and unsustainable) flexitank. ITCO is keen to hear from members on whether such a guidance document would be worthwhile and, if so, what it should contain.

have the votes that make the decisions.

As it is, ITCO has had to step in to oppose a number of proposals that could have caused difficulties for its members. Rubery gave an example from the September session of the Joint Meeting of RID/ADR/ADN Experts, where a proposal was put forward to require

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

TANKS & LOGISTICS 07

reinforcement plates to be attached to the tank shell at points where equipment such as walkways, cladding and collars are attached, in order to prevent tearing of the shell. Rubery said the proposal was not clearly written and could have had unintended consequences.

ITCO was successful in getting the text revised, removing the requirement for reinforcement plates, so giving designers leeway to determine how best to maintain the integrity of the tank shell.

INSPECTION AND ACCREDITATION Rubery moved on to discussions surrounding tank inspection which, he said, are “the biggest thing in regulations currently”. The processes for Accredited Inspection Bodies (AIBs) under ADR and RID have been tightened and are now more procedural (and possibly more bureaucratic).

Currently, AIBs are accredited by at least one country but, by means of reciprocal agreements, are permitted to carry out inspections in other countries. It now seems possible that AIBs will need to be accredited

 PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE PROVISIONS FOR BODIES UNDERTAKING TANK INSPECTIONS AND TESTING COULD HAVE MAJOR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IN THE TANK CONTAINER SECTOR

in each country in which they are operating, although this remains to be decided. Rubery said that this is an issue that is most relevant for road tankers, where it makes sense, but that it could cause problems if applied similarly to the tank container sector, which is more international in its operations. ITCO is pressing for recognition of that fact, noting that ADR and RID already differentiate between road tankers and tank wagons on the one hand and tank containers and portable tanks on the other.

Similarly, the AIB is recognised in the country where the inspected tanks are manufactured; there is a proposal now to shift this to the country of the operator. This would clearly be a problem for lessor-owned tank containers and, in any case, makes little sense for tanks that operate around the world. ITCO is once more opposing the proposal.

There is also a proposal for a new entry into service verification (EISV), which would be extremely burdensome for tank containers and, again, makes little sense. For example, Rubery said, a tank container manufactured in South Africa for an operator based in, say, Rotterdam, would have to have its EISV carried out in the Netherlands, meaning it would have to move from South Africa empty.

Further, leased tanks would need a new EISV if they moved from one operator to another in a different country.

Overall, Rubery said, as far as tank containers are concerned, these proposals all represent an unnecessary tidying up of the regulations.

TESTING AND TANKS Another issue of interest is the 2.5-year intermediate test. Currently the regulations provide 90 days leeway either side of the deadline. It has been proposed that, if that 90-day period is exceeded, the tank would have to undergo a full five-year periodic test.

This would align with recent changes in the UN Model Regulations.

To some extent, that change seems to merely reinforce the existing provisions, which certainly require the intermediate test to take place within 90 days of the expiry of the previous test. But that provision may be being interpreted rather loosely.

Rubery also reported on the outcome of discussions of the working group on fibrereinforced composite (FRP) tanks at the UN Sub-committee of Experts. This envisages the creation of a new Chapter 6.9 and new T Codes, along the lines of the current provisions in ADR. There has been a lot of discussion about liners, Rubery said, but a final proposal is expected for the June 2021 session of the UN Sub-committee. This points to its incorporation in the IMDG Code in Amendment 41-22, which will be mandatory from 2024. Work will progress to the issue of liquefied gases in FRP tanks, which will be a long process, Rubery predicted.

Looking specifically at the IMDG Code, Rubery said there is not a lot going on regarding portable tanks at the moment but that work to determine a certified safe type for data loggers and telematics units could have an impact. This issue remains to be discussed further but he advised operator that it would be good practice to check their existing units.

Rubery concluded with an update on ISO standards, not least ISO 1496:2019, which has recently been updated from the 1995 version. An amendment to ISO 6346:1995 is also currently being finalised, which may include new requirements for the marking of swap tanks.

More information on ITCO’s work on technical issues, along with all the guidance documents, can be found on the organisation’s website, www.itco.org.

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a tank container – and this is part of the problem if industry wants to address their widespread use. Kramer thinks the conversation needs to be escalated in the client industries: procurement people will always be looking at the bottom line and, if they can find a cheaper way to move their product, that’s what they will choose. But corporate leadership often has a wider view and, if sustainability is what they are looking for, then a more sustainable means of moving product should be their goal. And that is just what tank containers offer.

“I REFUSE TO use flexis,” says Mike Kramer firmly. Kramer, president of Stolt Tank Containers (STC), is no fan of flexitanks which, he says, present safety and environmental risks that are not acceptable, particularly at a time when senior figures across the chemical industry are arguing that the sector must become more sustainable.

“The tank container is the safest mode of transporting liquids, quite apart from environmental aspects,” Kramer insists.

Flexibags might be only used to carry

disposal problems. Even if they do not leak, can they be properly cleaned of their contents once emptied and sent for disposal?

The indirect environmental impact of flexis is also a major concern for Kramer, who says that 4 to 5 per cent of all plastic material manufactured ends up in the world’s oceans, contributing to the growing problem of plastics pollution that has become such a hot topic recently. Each flexibag weighs around 40 kg and it is estimated that around one million flexis are manufactured each

A WAY FORWARD? To counter competition from low-cost, disposable flexitanks, tank containers need to become more competitive, Kramer reasons. In particular, there needs to be a broader network of tank cleaning and repair depots where tanks can get cleaned so they can pick up return loads at places where the lack of such facilities currently makes that impossible. Indeed, he says, such locations are precisely where flexis have a natural market, as they are just thrown away and do not need to find a return load.

As the tank depot network expands, Kramer says, the size of the natural market for flexis will shrink, so it is in the interests of tank container operators to promote the development of the necessary infrastructure.

Kramer also says that the container lines have a role to play. If a flexi leaks while aboard ship, the cleanup can be problematic and costly, especially if the ship needs to be held in port for days. Similarly, when the side walls of a container bulge because of the weight of the cargo in a flexibag, it can lead to problems in unloading containers, again leading to vessels being delayed. If the lines

non-hazardous products but their frequent leaks can present significant cleanup and

year for a single-use trip; that means that, if flexis receive the same sort of treatment as other single-use plastics materials, around 2,000 tonnes of plastic is being added each year to the problem.

But if flexis are costly to the environment, they are undoubtedly cheaper to use than

wake up to this issue, they may start to take a dim view of flexis.

But ultimately, it’s about plastic, says Kramer. “Supermarkets have got rid of single-use plastics bags, and it’s time that industry did the same.” www.stolttankcontainers.com

SUSTAINABILITY SAYS ‘NO’ FLEXIS • TANK CONTAINERS SUFFER UNJUSTIFIABLE COMPETITION FROM FLEXITANKS, WHICH ARE NOT REUSABLE AND DO NOT MEET THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY, SAYS MIKE KRAMER

 STOLT TANK CONTAINERS IS NOT ALONE IN REJECTING THE CLAIMS OF FLEXITANKS

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

TANKS & LOGISTICS 09

GOING GLOBAL DEPOTS • THE COTAC GROUP IS EXPANDING RAPIDLY, MOVING OUT OF ITS EUROPEAN HOMELAND TO OFFER A HIGH STANDARD OF TANK CONTAINER SERVICES AROUND THE WORLD THE COTAC GROUP has significantly expanded its operations, with its seven locations in Europe recently being joined by facilities in the US, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. The move, cotac says, establishes a standardised level of quality, safety and security at major international logistics hubs around the world, while also making cotac one of the leading service providers in tank container cleaning and report worldwide.

From its historic roots in Europe, cotac is moving into regions of the world that are especially relevant for chemical logistics operators, with depots located close to freight handling ports and logistics hubs.

Lars Nennhaus, managing director of cotac, explains: “We support customers exactly where they ask for our portfolio of performances and services.”

In concrete terms, the company is investing in creating its own new sites wherever they

 COTAC’S EXPANSION WILL HELP IMPROVE TANK DEPOT STANDARDS AROUND THE WORLD

are needed, and the infrastructure they require, either on its own or in close cooperation with selected partners. Nennhaus adds: “We can further optimise the customer supply chain by expanding our worldwide network.”

As one of the market leaders in Europe, cotac offers the highest standards of service for tank cleaning, repair and depot services.

These technical services for tank containers guarantee the smooth, safe and secure progress of bulk liquids logistics and represent a vital link in the logistics chain.

The company specialises in cleaning tanks used for the transport of liquid chemicals, liquefied gases and foodstuffs, alongside the repair of tank containers, road tankers, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and mini pressure tanks; it also offers modification work, servicing and certification.

A BIG FOOTPRINT The new sites in cotac’s network outside Europe have been successfully established for several years and are now being integrated into the cotac operation. The Houston site in

the US is in the immediate vicinity of the Port of Houston, offering 600 tank container storage spaces on a 130,000-m² site, along with a workshop and 11 cleaning lines.

The four sites added in Asia together contribute some 40,000 m² of depot space, around 5,000 tank container storage spaces, four workshops and 40 cleaning lines.

Following the incorporation of the new facilities, which cotac has been working on since October this year, the company now has some 100 cleaning lines available around the world, as well as 500,000 m² of footprint and 12,000 tank container storage bays. Annual capacity is now 200,000 cleaning operations and 100,000 workshop orders.

“By enlarging the number of sites, we have completed another important step in our global expansion strategy,” Nennhaus says.

“More projects are in the planning phase.”

Hamburg-headquartered cotac group has around 700 employees providing reliable, quality-assured tank container services at its sites around the world. Safety, security and quality are especially important in the company, supported by standardised training courses for all employees and internal know-how about product cleaning processes on the part of cotac’s chemical experts.

All the cotac sites undergo regular internal and external audits. “Sustainability and environmentally conscious action are the rule, in addition to integrity and commitment,” cotac says. www.cotac-group.com

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BLOWING HOT AND COLD DIGITISATION • VTG IS EXTENDING ITS AUTOMATED SERVICES WITH NEW TEMPERATURE SENSORS TO MONITOR THE CONDITION OF GOODS IN TRANSIT

VTG AND NEXXIOT have extended their collaboration in digitising the railfreight sector, with VTG using temperature sensors developed

by Nexxiot to monitor the condition of high value, temperature-sensitive goods in transit.

As from this month, VTG has begun to fit the sensors to some 3,000 freight cars to be able to record the temperature of the tank, the heating system and the outlet. The generated data will be consolidated and processed in the Nexxiot Connect Cloud. Detailed evaluations and further analyses are available to customers on the VTG platform traigo. In the event of temperature changes, all authorised transport participants receive a notification via the system.

“Some products are no longer usable even after small temperature variations. That is why we want to guarantee our customers

 THE LATEST AGREEMENT WITH NEXXIOT IS A FURTHER ADDITION TO VTG’S TRAIGO PLATFORM

complete documentation when transporting high-value chemicals or other temperaturesensitive goods,” says Hanno Schell, head of innovation at VTG. “With launching the Nexxiot solution, we go one step further. The notification of anomalies enables real-time action to be taken to prevent temperature fluctuations.”

Stefan Kalmund, Nexxiot CEO, says he sees great opportunities to improve quality management and transparency along international supply chains. “In many industries, such as the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries, there are high requirements for temperature monitoring of sensitive goods. We will support VTG in the future to further improve the quality of transport in these sectors. The use of real-time information and its integration into the day-to-day work of customers play an important role in this. The logistics industry needs innovative pioneers like VTG to meet the challenges of the future.”

Peter Töpfer, senior project manager at VTG, adds: “The digitalisation of our entire fleet is a high priority for us. Only the generation, processing and intelligent use of data enables us to offer our customers the transparency they need to make sound decisions. Nexxiot supports us in this as a strategic partner.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE VTG’s traigo platform was officially launched this past August, having been trialled with selected customers since the start of 2020. At the time of the launch, VTG’s CEO, Dr Heiko Fischer, said: “Rail freight has suffered a chronic lack of the digital innovations that have long been standard issue for other modes of transport. But thanks to traigo, our industry can now provide services much more transparently and efficiently. That will make it more attractive to existing customers, as well as capturing the enthusiasm of new companies in the forwarding industry. There really is no other way to reach the political goal of raising rail’s share of the modal split to at least 25 per cent.”

Traigo began with a range of tools, including mileage predictions, a function to flag wagons that have been standing idle for long periods, and the display of maintenance status of certain components. It was always envisaged that the platform would be extended in response to feedback from customers, as is now happening with the latest Nexxiot temperature sensors.

Dr Niko Davids, chief digital officer at VTG, said the testing phase provided crucial pointers and added: “What we need to do now is ramp up the digital service portfolio and model other wagon owners’ fleets on the platform, too. For this reason, we are inviting every partner in the industry – forwarding agents, operators, railway companies, other wagon owners, whoever – to also link their systems to traigo and, by developing digital applications, to play a part in making rail freight more attractive.

One thing is for sure: We must work together if we want to genuinely transform a system as complex as rail freight.” www.vtg.com

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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THE RIGHT CHEMISTRY WAREHOUSING • DACHSER’S RECENT INVESTMENT IN ITS HUB NEAR KARLSRUHE IS ALREADY PAYING OFF, WITH FURTHER EXPANSION OF CAPACITY ALREADY BEING CONSIDERED DACHSER OPENED A new warehouse for dangerous goods at its Malsch hub this past May. The 21,800-m² high-bay storage facility offers some 43,000 pallet spaces, with intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) stacked up to three-high. Malsch is an important hub in Dachser’s European network, located on the A5 motorway some 20 km south of Karlsruhe in Germany, close to the French border.

“The region is one of the leaders in chemical industry revenue,” notes Bernd Grossmann, general manager of the Karlsruhe logistics centre. “As such, there is strong demand there for logistics companies that can serve as a safe and reliable transportation partner while also offering safe storage of chemical products and

of four in south-western Germany to help serve that demand.

At first glance, the new warehouse looks much like any other: long rows of high shelves, with electric forklifts whirring through the aisles, employees picking goods with their scanners and goods in sacks, barrels and IBCs being moved on and off shelves and out to the loading bay.

hazardous materials.” The Malsch site is one

to determine their specific requirements regarding the warehouse and the handling of hazardous materials. Then, in cooperation with experts from Dachser head office and with the relevant authorities, we developed a tailor-made concept for a hazardous materials warehouse and made it a reality. As a result,

 DACHSER’S CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE IN MALSCH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF A MUCH LARGER DANGEROUS GOODS LOGISTICS NETWORK

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL However, Grossmann notes, “You can’t just get a hazardous materials warehouse like the one in Malsch ‘off the rack,’ as it were. Before starting construction on the new facility, we met with our customers and with experts

the facility in Malsch boasts highly advanced technology and in many ways sets an example for other Dachser locations.”

For instance, in between the racks, more than 60 km of piping feeds nearly 30,000 shelf sprinklers in case of fire. The warehouse is also divided into nine fire zones, each equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system with ceiling sprinklers. Aspirating smoke detectors (ASD) are also installed in every zone. In addition, four of the zones have a gas warning system and an extinguishing system with a surfactant admixture. The floors are designed specifically to retain leakage and firewater: the floor level has been lowered and the resulting space waterproofed. Meanwhile, barriers at the wastewater inflows offer increased groundwater protection. The hazardous materials warehouse was approved in accordance with Germany’s Federal Immission Protection Act (BImSchG).

PART OF THE JIGSAW The Malsch warehouse is not a standalone facility: it has to mesh into Dachser’s network and handle specific products. Grossmann explains: “The parameters are clearly defined.

We stock only those products that we can also transport using our groupage network, so that there are no gaps in the supply chain.” For this reason, direct lines connect the logistics hub to all of Europe’s economic centres, with 40 direct routes running daily to every Dachser branch

TANKS & LOGISTICS 13

in Germany. “Due to our location, we’re also the ideal platform for Spain and our neighbours in France. These are major markets for us,” Grossmann adds.

“At this location, our scope of services includes distribution as well as procurement logistics and, in contract logistics, solutions tailored to customers in the chemical and numerous other industries,” says Florian Steinbrunn, head of contract logistics in Malsch.

In addition to storage, Dachser provides a wide range of value-added services. This gives rise to particularly close customer relationships, some of which have lasted for more than 15 years.

“We know each other well, we trust each other, and so we can actively steer and continuously shape how we work together,” Steinbrunn adds.

To serve these markets, employees need specialist knowledge, flexibility, and the ability to actively stay on top of things. “Good

employees are extremely important, especially in chemical logistics,” Grossmann says. “That’s why we run a lot of training courses, so we can always keep the knowledge they need for their demanding tasks up to date.” This has an effect on the overall team cohesion in Malsch.

“Our employee turnover is very low. In

operational areas, the average length of service with the Dachser branch is more than ten years. We’ve trained many of our specialists ourselves,” Grossmann adds, noting that there are currently 57 apprentices undergoing their three years of training. www.dachser.com

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TREAD LIGHTLY DESIGN • VAN HOOL HAS COME UP WITH A NEW, LIGHTER TANK CONTAINER FOR VAN DEN BOSCH, DESIGNED TO HOLD MORE PRODUCT AND IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF PERSONNEL VAN DEN BOSCH has begun the introduction of a new design of High Volume Ultra Light tank container, developed in collaboration with manufacturer Van Hool. The first series of 50 new tanks are arriving and are being deployed by Van den Bosch in its foodgrade transport operations The new tanks have a capacity of 35,500 litres and weigh just 3,180 kg. When transporting products such as sunflower oil, soybean oil, palm oil and coconut oil, which have a relatively low density, this allows them to carry up to 30 tonnes of product. “This results in a maximum payload, savings on logistics costs and fewer transport movements,” says Emiel van Haren, operations director of Van den Bosch’s liquid food division. “The high insulation makes the container also ideal for conditioned transport.”

The design of the new tank builds on a design developed by Van den Bosch and Van Hool in 2014. “Where we took a huge step in the field of payload optimisation back then and developed a ground-controlled mechanism, we’re now going one step further,” says Van Haren.

The new pressurised tank container is equipped with a single point of sealing, connected to the ground control mechanism so that the valve and airline can now be operated at ground level via a tap in the outlet box. Van Haren says: “Developing ground level controlled equipment is a new step to prevent unnecessary working at height and all the associated risks. We also optimise sealability by going from two to just one sealing point on the container.”

 VAN DEN BOSCH AND VAN HOOL HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD TO OPTIMISE PAYLOAD CAPACITY

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT The latest design is part of a longer continuum. Van Haren says that, ten years ago, 28 tonnes was the standard load capacity. “That was improvable. Together with our partner Van Hool, we developed it up to 30 tonnes. In the meantime we have been continuously looking for ways to make our containers even better. For example, through the development of a single point of sealing and switching to a pressurised container to increase deployability. This also includes a higher insulation value, which helps maintain product temperature and prevents solidification.”

Van den Bosch’s chemical division, meanwhile, has recently undergone its three-yearly audit under the Safety and

Quality Assessment for Sustainability (SQAS) programme, achieving a ‘score’ of 94 per cent, compared to 82 per cent in its last audit in 2017. “We are extremely proud of this result, which once again underlines that quality and safety are woven into every part of our organisation,” says Michiel van Kessel, director of staff services.

The auditor was impressed, Van den Bosch says, by the business operations and the outcomes achieved, particularly as SQAS was expanded in 2019 and there were new aspects to be audited. “It is the ultimate proof that quality and safety run like a red thread through our organisation,” van Kessel notes. “I am also impressed by the cooperation between all departments, with this excellent score as the end result.”

“The chemical sector sets high standards for quality and safety in the transport of chemical products. These requirements have been translated into the SQAS standard,” van Kessel continues. “This high score once again underlines that our customers can always trust that their raw materials are transported safely and that the quality is optimal.” www.vandenbosch.com

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UPSIDES, DOWNSIDES REFLECTIONS • IT HAS BEEN A STRANGE YEAR FOR ALL OF US, BUT WHAT WILL 2021 LOOK LIKE? FORT VALE EXPLAINS HOW IT ADAPTED TO THE PANDEMIC AND WHAT IT EXPECTS NEXT YEAR AS THE WORLD lurches towards the end of a tumultuous year, all eyes are on 2021. Will it herald a new, Covid-free dawn? Will the promised delivery of multiple vaccines enable the world to get back on its feet? Will trade exhibitions ever be the same again? Will Leeds United challenge for the Premiership this year? HCB spoke to Graham Blanchard, global marketing director of Fort Vale, to get his insights into the business environment.

HCB: How has Fort Vale managed as a company during 2020? What have been the difficulties you have faced? The highs and lows of the year?

GB: Obviously, the pandemic and its associated lockdowns have caused logistical problems for many companies - and Fort Vale is no exception - but we have found that our sound company structure has enabled us to adapt swiftly to all the problems thrown at us. Although it has been a challenging year, we believe that we are

well-placed to move forward with a full range of products and new equipment launches in 2021.

With regard to the various ‘highs and lows’ of this year, I think that they may be similar to those experienced by many companies, but we feel that we have addressed all the issues thrown at us with a fair degree of success.

For Fort Vale, there were several areas that were of prime importance: maintaining our workforce’s health and jobs; keeping our customers supplied with the stock they wanted, when they wanted it; maintaining our growth in newer markets; and our continued investment in R&D. It was vital for us to keep our workforce safe, so the first thing we did when lockdown was first announced in mid-March was to make the factory and offices Covid-secure (social distancing measures, working from home, regular sanitising programme, in-house track and trace, alterations in shift

patterns and break times) to ensure that employees were as safe as possible in the workplace and that the risk to the business in case of a contracted case did not result in the closure of our factory. As a result, our workforce was kept safe, and while there was the odd case of transmission, no-one’s health was seriously impacted.

The UK’s furlough scheme ensured that we could retain staff without making collective redundancies and allowed us to bring our highly trained workforce straight back into the workplace as orders have increased. This has been a key factor in increasing production at a fast pace, whereas the usual methods of having to go through a recruitment drive and training of new staff can take time.

The hastily introduced travel restrictions and subsequent cancellation of events meant that contact with customers changed, and the use of digital technology became a key factor in communications at home and abroad. This meant that the business landscape had altered.

The methods used to keep in touch (Zoom etc.) have in some cases been around for years, but without any significant pick-up, and it will be interesting to see if these are still being used once the pandemic is finally over.

I believe that personal, face-to-face contact with customers and suppliers will always be an essential part of everyday business, but I also feel that we have perhaps reached a high-water mark with regard to business travel, and that technology still has a vital role to play in future business communication - but only time will tell.

We managed to maintain and encourage further growth is several key markets - rail, road and process plants for example, but that was balanced by the depressed activity in the tank container market. We felt it was vital to keep up with our continued investment in R&D - this has always been a key factor in our success at Fort Vale, so we did not tone down our commitments to continuous improvement - even with all the difficulties encountered with the downturn in orders from our core market of tank container equipment, cashflow issues faced with customers, supply chains being affected by lockdowns etc.

We are very aware that our continued development and innovation of products

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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is what marks us out from competitors and I see no reason to change that!

HCB: So, what’s the story with Leeds United?

GB: I have been a massive Leeds fan all of my life, and in 2020 we qualified for the Premier League after an absence of 16 years. It was a special moment in a period that will unfortunately be remembered as the ‘year of staying in’ - a personal high point in a sea of lows. It’s bound to be a tricky season after so long in the lower division, but I have high hopes for the future, and hope (along with everyone else) to be able to attend a game at some stage soon!

HCB: And what does the next 12 months hold for Fort Vale?

GB: As I mentioned earlier, we’ve gone to great lengths to maintain our investment in R&D, and the results will become apparent in the New Year. I can’t say too much, but we will be extending the range of our European and American rail products as well as improving our range of PFA-lined equipment for hazardous cargoes. We’ll also be launching new equipment for the IBC market - which is very exciting - and bringing some new powder tank equipment to the market.

In early 2021, we will be launching a new e-commerce website for spares. Initially, this will only be for the UK market, but we will be rolling out this service to mainland Europe, serviced via the Fort Vale BV office, later in the year.

We are also looking forward to being able to exhibit again in 2021. The last nine months has shown us what can be achieved with the right mindset, and incredible advances have been made. I’m not just talking about our industry here: there has been astounding

 CAREFUL SANITARY PRECAUTIONS HAVE ALLOWED FORT VALE TO KEEP UP PRODUCTION, INCLUDING RAIL BALL VALVES (OPPOSITE), BOTTOM DISCHARGE VALVES FOR TANK CARS (TOP) AND T-PIECE ASSEMBLIES FOR ANOTHER RAIL PROJECT

participation between industries and disciplines in all walks of life in 2020. We should not lose sight of the fact that a lot of good has come from this pandemic in terms of countries and continents working together for a common cause.

to take for granted, such as long-haul travel, may have to be re-assessed in the near future.

I enjoy meeting customers and potential new clients, as well as forming new commercial partnerships, so hopefully the result of all this hard work will be the resumption of some

It’s been an eventful year for all of us, interspersed with periods of uncertainty, but I think a lot of companies will be itching to get back out into a more traditional marketplace again - many people just want to get back to some semblance of normality - but it’s also worth pointing out that the things we used

business events, though I think we will have to wait until 2022 before there is a full calendar of exhibitions again - whether we will all still be wearing masks we will have to wait and see!

But, masks or no masks, I’m looking forward to it. www.fortvale.com

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NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

NW THE PICK FOR BP

Nijhof Wassink is to take over fuel distribution and transport planning for BP Netherlands as from 1 September 2021. Nijhof Wassink has been working with BP for the past 18 months, deploying two tank trailer units to distribute fuel to BP’s 350 service stations in the country.

‘This fantastic new order is wonderful recognition for our Fuel Distribution Department,” says Bertil Bouwhuis, managing director of Nijhof Wassink’s chemical logistics division. “Our specialism in transporting chemical products and extensive experience in fuel distribution have had a positive influence on this cooperation with BP Nederland.

The recognition we have by receiving this assignment is a great compliment for our people in planning, the safety support team and our ‘business cards’ - the drivers who represent us.

“By outsourcing both the transport and the planning ensures that the journeys to and from our petrol stations are planned more efficiently,” Bouwhuis adds. This allows us to reduce CO2 emissions even more. Our strong focus on safety and sustainability is a good fit to the ambitions of BP to deliver energy in a safe, respectful and sustainable way.” nijhofwassink.com

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

ALBATROSS IN INDIA

Albatross Tank-Leasing has set up a representative office in Gujarat, India to cover south Asia and the Middle East, regions that Albatross believes will offer long-term opportunities for special tanks, including T50 gas tank containers. Albatross can offer tank containers ex depot in India on short notice, with sufficient flexibility to help its customers handle rapidly changing market conditions.

The company is developing a domestic leasing platform, due online in second quarter 2021.

“Our local presence is giving customer full access to our service structure and will ensure timeliness response to any technical, commercial or operational inquiries,” the company says.

“Apart from leasing of the tank containers, customer can choose between a variety of service elements which can be added to provide technical and operational support if and when required to ensure an efficient and cost-effective fleet management.” albatross-tanks.de DEN HARTOGH IN DUMAI

Den Hartogh Asia Pacific has opened up a new route out of Indonesia, having worked closely with the port authority in Dumai, Sumatra to allow direct export of tank

containers for international shipments. This avoids the need to customers in the region, a major palm oil production area, to truck their output more than 600 km to the port of Belawan.

“Our customers are now able to enjoy a higher level of safety, operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” the company says.

A brief video outlining the new service is available on the Den Hartogh website. www.denhartogh.com MORE CHLORALKALI FOR UNIVAR

Univar Solutions has reached a strategic agreement with PVS Chloralkali, under which Univar will take over PVS’s rail cars in Ohio, Illinois and Virginia and its sourcing agreements for hydrochloric acid. Univar will now be a strategic provider of hydrochloric acid for PVS, which manages chlorides used in the production of finished steel throughout North America.

“PVS remains active and growing throughout all of its products and markets. This agreement strengthens PVS’s hydrochloric acid business by allowing the company to focus on where we maximise value for our customers,” says David Nicholson, president/CEO of PVS Chemicals, parent of PVS Chloralkali.

“This agreement further expands Univar Solutions’ large and robust network for its

TANKS & LOGISTICS 19

CRFP tank containers, also newly launched in the US. omnitanker.com MILKYWAY BUILDS ITS NETWORK

hydrochloric acid business in North America,” says Joe Serna, vice-president, bulk chemical distribution for Univar Solutions. “We’re very pleased to increase our sourcing capabilities and logistics infrastructure to enhance our presence as a top hydrochloric acid provider benefitting customers throughout North America.” www.univarsolutions.com MORE IN MOERDIJK

Frans de Wit is extending the range of services it provides at its Moerdijk facility in the Netherlands, having obtained a permit for the intermediate storage of tank containers containing waste materials. “This enables us to serve customers with a demand for intermediate storage of their waste products and completes our ability to transport waste in bulk,” the company says.

In addition, Frans de Wit is currently developing a new installation for the heating of acrylic acid in tanks. There is a very small margin between the desired carriage and handling temperature and the point at which acrylic acid will polymerise and standard heating procedures using steam or hot water are considered unsafe.

Frans de Wit is currently trialling its new system and expects to have it up and running commercially within a few weeks. www.fransdewit.nl

the US. The tanks have been in use in Omni’s home market of Australia since 2006 and feature a unique and internationally patented construction that involves a carbon fibrereinforced polymer (CRFP) exterior tank bonded to a seamless thermoplastic interior tank.

The result is an exceptionally light but robust and safe tank suitable for the transport of Class 8 corrosive chemicals, with a weight saving that allows an increase in payload of 8 to 10 per cent. Omni Tanker says the product is safer because the CRFP outer shell is six times stronger than steel, while the tank is significantly lighter than a traditional steel tank or even a fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) tank, as commonly found in the US. The launch took place at the start of October at the headquarters of All Chemical Transport in New Jersey, one of the first US customers for the design. The event was also attended by the Australian ambassador to the US and by Eurotainer, which is already operating Omni’s

Shanghai-based Milkyway Chemical Supply Chain Service has, in partnership with Chengdu Xiongfeng Investment, acquired a 60 per cent shareholding in Sichuan Xiongrui Logistics, which it says has greatly improved distribution activities in the Sichuan and Chongqing region of China.

Xiongrui Logistics has a broad range of service offerings, including the road transport of dangerous goods, chemical warehousing, international freight forwarding, cold storage and other specialities. Milkyway says its team has a lot of experience in the chemical logistics sector, with long-term customer relationships across its network in Chengdu, Chongqing, Luzhou, Hangzou, Xi’an, Guangzhou and elsewhere.

Xiongrui Logistics will now be renamed Milkyway Xiongfeng Logistics and be fully integrated into the Milkyway management system, strengthening its national distribution network and improving response times for customers.

Milkyway has also acquired Ningbo Dowchain Logistics, which was formed only in September 2019 with a focus on chemical transport and international freight forwarding. Dowchain’s team came from logistics operations in multinational and state-owned chemical groups. www.mwclg.com

OMNI COMPOSITES NOW IN THE US

Omni Tanker has launched its innovative carbon-composite tank truck trailer design in



OMNI TANKER HAS INTRODUCED ITS COMPOSITE TANK TRAILERS AND TANK CONTAINERS TO THE US

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JOINING FORCES CONSOLIDATION • TWO OF THE LEADING CHEMICAL TANKER OPERATORS HAVE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED JOINT VENTURE AND POOL ARRANGEMENTS THE CHEMICAL TANKER market has been in reasonable shape lately, despite the vagaries of demand. One reason behind that has been

purchase of Nordic Tankers. But the two other leading chemical tanker operators, Odfjell and Stolt Tankers, have both recently announced

the relatively small orderbook, which has kept vessel supply comparatively tight and supported firm fundamentals going forward.

The leading operators are keen to keep things that way but, if they are to expand their own fleets, how are they to do it without adding to the global fleet supply, at a time when there is a lack of opportunity to acquire quality tankers on the secondhand market? One solution is to grow through acquisition, as MOL Chemical Tankers did in 2019 with the

collaborative arrangements with other owners.

Early in November, Odfjell established a new pool for IMO II coated MR tankers, entering six of its own vessels; Navig8 Chemical Tankers entered six of its ships and, soon afterwards, Transportation Recovery Fund (TRF) added another seven modern vessels. “Suddenly that’s a very meaningful fleet, one of the biggest out there,” Odfjell CEO Kristian Mørch said in an interview with TradeWinds. “We have contracts ready and we can offer a much better service to clients. The move gives the company a bigger footprint in commodity chemicals.”

Navig8 also has four 25,000-dwt tankers in Odfjell’s Chem25 pool but that pool shrank in August when Stolt-Nielsen bought five tankers

 A LARGER FLEET OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE UTILISATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

from Chemical Transportation Group (CTG) and moved them into its own Stolt Tankers pool.

SAY HELLO TO E&S Meanwhile, Stolt Tankers and John T Essberger last month set up a joint venture, E&S Tankers, to operate their parcel tanker fleets trading in Europe. As from 1 January 2021, subject to clearance from the German competition authorities, E&S will offer a combined fleet of 48 tankers ranging in size from 2,800 dwt to 11,300 dwt, concentrating on the Baltic, Mediterranean and north-west Europe trades. The ships have segregated stainless steel cargo tanks.

Lucas Vos, president of Stolt Tankers, says: “This joint venture demonstrates Stolt Tankers’ proven ability to develop opportunities and generate value in a changing market. E&S Tankers will provide enhanced reliability, logistical flexibility and minimise network inefficiencies across our combined fleets.

Furthermore, we expect E&S Tankers to help deliver on our sustainability commitments by reducing CO² emissions while providing the continued best-in-class environmental and safety standards our customers expect. Most importantly, I expect the newly formed joint venture to deliver significant cost savings.”

“Essberger and Stolt Tankers are strong heritage businesses with a very good match in their values and business approach,” adds Jan Eghøj, managing director of John T Essberger.

“With this joint venture we have combined our vast experience in the parcel tanker market for the benefit of our customers. Improved fleet efficiencies will enable us to invest in the future, to remain the preferred long-term partner for our highly valued customers. We are not only pleased that our fleet of 34 tankers will be fully integrated into the joint venture, but also that our experienced and dedicated staff will continue to work at the E&S Tankers company, located in Hamburg, Germany.”

Eghøj also stresses that E&S Tankers is not a pool operation: it is a new company, demonstrating a long-term commitment from both owners. All existing John T Essberger personnel will move to E&S Tankers during the course of a six-month transition period. www.odfjell.com www.stolt-nielsen.com www.essberger.biz

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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BACK IN THE SWING MARKET • THE CHEMICAL TANKER SECTOR IS RETURNING TO SOMETHING LIKE NORMALITY, WITH ODFJELL REPORTING RESILIENCE DESPITE WORRYING SIGNALS FROM THE GLOBAL ECONOMY ODFJELL TANKERS HAS reported revenues of $229.7m for the third quarter 2020, down on the $234.6m achieved in the previous period but 7.2 per cent ahead of the year earlier. EBITDA also fell but, likewise, was well up on the 2019 figure. The third quarter is often slow and Odfjell says spot rates responded, while this year the second quarter had also been boosted by what it says were “several fixtures at attractive rates in the clean petroleum product segment”, that did not reappear. On the other hand, renewals under contracts of affreightment (COAs) were up on average by 4.5 per cent compared to the previous period, continuing the positive trend over the past 18 months.

Odfjell CEO Kristian Mørch says the third quarter was “impacted by seasonality and a high number of drydockings” but, overall,

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

he says he is “satisfied with our ability to continue to report positive results in this challenging environment”.

Alongside the usual seasonal slowdown, re-stocking seen during the second quarter meant that inventories remained high and there was a lack of storage capacity, discouraging trading. This was compounded, particularly in Asia, by increased competition from swing tonnage coming in from the petroleum trades.

MARKET MOVES The chemical tanker market has proven to be resilient so far during the 2020 downturn in the global economy, Odfjell says, but a recovery in economic conditions will be a key factor in ensuring higher chemical tanker demand over the coming years. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is projecting global GDP to shrink by 4.4 per cent this year but is forecasting growth of 5.2 per cent in 2021. IMF expects the speed of recovery to differ between regions, with large chemical importers in Europe and Asia to doing better than the larger chemical exporters. This should lead to continued regional supply and demand imbalances and continued stimuli for seaborne trade in chemicals.

The Covid-19 crisis has had a particularly significant impact on chemicals used in the automotive and construction industries but, Odfjell says, there seems to have been a gradual recovery in these sectors, the emergence of a new round of infections notwithstanding. Continued recovery in these industries will be key to normalisation in the chemical trades.

The recent trend of reduced competition from swing tonnage reversed somewhat during the third quarter but, Odfjell says, this should be a temporary feature. “While we expect a short-term pickup in swing tonnage carrying chemicals and vegoils, we do not expect competition to become as severe as the last couple of years,” as the fundamentals for clean product and crude oil tankers look to be improving over the near term.

Furthermore, appetite for newbuilding in the chemical tanker sector remains low and limited supply growth over the coming three years should be a key factor in strengthening the chemical tanker market. Only two operators placed newbuilding contracts during the third quarter, partly representing replacement tonnage.

With chemical tanker demand forecast to grow at an annual average of 3 per cent between 2021 and 2023, and supply growth limited to 1 per cent per year, the fundamentals for the chemical tanker market seem optimistic. www.odfjell.com

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ACID TEST COASTAL SHIPPING • HGK TOOK ITS EXPERTISE IN HAND TO DELIVER A NEWLY CONVERTED SHORTSEA CHEMICAL TANKER TO COVESTRO, A LONG-TERM CUSTOMER FOR ITS SERVICES

HGK SHIPPING GROUP has expanded its shortsea tanker fleet with the launch of Amadeus Titanium, a newly converted vessel that will work exclusively under timecharter to Covestro. The ship, which can carry some 2,000 tonnes of chemical products, was converted from a dry bulk coaster at the De Gerlien van Tiem shipyard in Druten, the Netherlands over the course of six months.

“HGK Shipping is a strong partner for the chemical industry,” says Wolfgang Nowak, vice-president, commercial at HGK Shipping.

“We’re developing solutions to meet the challenges of the future together with our

customers and on their behalf. Joint projects like the Amadeus Titanium prove that we have the suitable technical, logistical and operational expertise for this.” The ship is now equipped with four cargo tanks, designed to allow Covestro to distribute hydrochloric acid and caustic soda to customers across Europe, helping it meet increasing demand and offer those customers supply reliability.

HGK Shipping says it won the project because of its ability to offer a customised approach, adapting a suitable vessel that was already in service and providing it with the correct technical parameters for the charterer, including its fuel consumption and operating speed. In addition, compared to the 18 to 24 months it would have taken for build a new ship, the conversion project was both time-efficient and economic.

GATHERING EXPERTISE HGK was also able to make use of its technical and operational expertise in shipping liquid chemicals in shortsea operations. HGK and its subsidiaries have been operating vessels for Covestro and its predecessor companies for more than 80 years; several of its inland waterway vessels are used in a feeder service to move hydrochloric acid from Covestro plants in Germany to Moerdijk, from where Amadeus

Titanium made its maiden voyage this past October.

The conversion of the former coaster Bornholm also took collaboration and expertise, under the watchful eye of classification society Bureau Veritas.

Stability calculations were performed by SARC, engineering and design by Ankerbeer, technical management by De Bock Maritiem and tank construction by Van der Zalm Metaalindustrie. The tanks were rubbercoated by Steuler-KCH, piping was supplied

by Willems Piping & Equipment, and electrical systems came from Van Tiem Elektro.

HGK Shipping is part of Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG, the logistics arm of the Stadtwerke Köln Group. HGK began as a port operator and, through subsidiaries and holdings, operates the largest network of inland ports in Germany, one of the country’s largest private freight railways, and a number of workshops and specialised logistics companies.

One of those is HGK Shipping GmbH, which was founded only in July this year to consolidate the group’s inland and shortsea shipping activities; a month later it acquired the inland shipping activities of Imperial Shipping Holding GmbH, making it one of the largest inland shipping companies in Europe. www.hgk.de

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OPENING TIME HYDROGEN • IT IS NOW WIDELY EXPECTED THAT HYDROGEN WILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE PATH TO DECARBONISATION. CLASSNK EXPLAINS HOW TO MOVE IT SAFELY BY SEA AS A ZERO-EMISSION fuel that is easily available around the world, hydrogen has the potential to transform modern society during the transition to a carbon-neutral fuel.

Hydrogen can be used in fuel cells to power mobility, households and industry, as well as fuelling gas turbines, but considerable work remains before a ‘hydrogen society’ can be supported on an industrial scale. One key component will be the ability for ships to carry large amounts of hydrogen worldwide.

From the viewpoint of transport efficiency, practical options include the carriage of liquefied hydrogen in bulk, the organic chemical hydride method and deriving hydrogen from transported ammonia. In the latter two cases, transport is possible using conventional chemical tankers or liquefied gas carriers.

considered to be the most efficient method.

As liquefied hydrogen must be kept at temperatures below -253°C to maintain its liquid state under atmospheric pressure, however, it presents an even tougher handling and storage challenge at sea than LNG. ClassNK responded to the expectations for liquefied hydrogen transport in 2017, publishing a comprehensive set of Guidelines for Liquefied Hydrogen Carriers. The guidelines took into account the provisions of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Interim Recommendations for Carriage of Liquefied Hydrogen in Bulk, adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in 2016, and prescribed each item as a more specific requirement based on scenarios for possible accidents to ensure the safety of liquefied

The existing statutory framework has also been under development to cover the carriage of liquefied hydrogen, which is

hydrogen in bulk during maritime transport.

 KHI EXPECTS TO DELIVER THE WORLD’S FIRST DEDICATED HYDROGEN CARRIER SHORTLY

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

WHAT ARE THE RISKS? The IMO Interim Recommendation was developed primarily based on a comparison of the physical properties of methane (the main component of LNG) and liquefied hydrogen.

Both are cryogenic and non-toxic, and both generate flammable high-pressure gas.

On the basis of that comparison, liquefied hydrogen – when compared to LNG – has a low ignition energy (0.017 mJ vs 0.274 mJ); a wider flammability range (4.0 to 75.0 per cent, vs 5.3 to 17.0 per cent); low flame visibility during fires; high burning velocity (3.15 m/s vs 0.385 m/s), which may lead to detonations; high permeability; and low viscosity.

Additional hazards involve the condensation (liquefaction) and coagulation (solidification) of gas, which may lead to the formation of a low-temperature atmosphere with a high concentration of oxygen, which can present a greater combustion and explosion hazard and also lead to the clogging of pipes. Further, being carried at such a low temperature, liquefied hydrogen presents risks of embrittlement in tanks, piping, process equipment and welds.

In view of those hazards, the guidelines developed by ClassNK include special requirements for 19 items: -M aterials, welding of cargo tanks, cargo process piping, pressure vessels and equipment -T hermal insulation of cargo tanks, piping, pressure vessels and equipment -V acuum insulation for cargo containment systems -V acuum insulation for cargo process piping, pressure vessels and equipment -D esign, construction and testing of cargo tanks -D esign and arrangement of cargo process piping, pressure vessels and equipment -C onstruction and testing of cargo process piping, pressure vessels and equipment -P ressure relief valves for cargo tanks -V ent systems for cargo containment -C argo pressure and temperature control -A tmosphere control - Ventilation -T emperature and gas concentration measurement and hydrogen gas and fire detection -M easures against hydrogen fires -P ersonnel protection -F illing limits for cargo tanks -O perational procedures and manuals -R isk assessment - I n-service survey plans.

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For a risk assessment to be conducted in an exhaustive manner for the design specifications of an individual ship carrying liquefied hydrogen cargo, it must consider risks to persons on board, the environment and the structural strength/integrity of the ship, with adequate counter-measures proposed. Key items, such as possible vent release scenarios, vent fires, gas diffusion analysis, boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE), the possibility of explosions and detonations in enclosed compartments, and the loss of a single vacuum compartment in a vacuum insulation system, must be specified in detail.

IN THE REAL WORLD The guidelines developed by ClassNK to support the development of liquefied hydrogen transport have already been applied in an actual project: the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) for

the CO²-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-chain Technology Research Association (HySTRA).

HySTRA is a consortium “established primarily to achieve technologies and carry out demonstration of everything from production of hydrogen via effective use of brown coal through to transportation and storage of said hydrogen, aimed at the cultivation of a CO²-free hydrogen supply chain and its commercialisation”.

Named Suiso Frontier, the resulting vessel has a length overall of 116 m, a cargo tank capacity of approximately 1,250 m³ and was launched in December 2019. Its construction is expected to be completed by late 2020, according to Kawasaki Heavy Industries..

ClassNK received the application for classification survey during construction and carried out the verification and validation in line with its guidelines and applicable rules. In the meantime, ClassNK is updating the guidelines based on experience and knowledge acquired

through the ship’s design and construction and, as the new ship approaches its operational phase, in its role of ensuring safety in the transport of liquefied hydrogen by sea. www.classnk.com

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emissions, eliminates sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter completely, and cuts nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 60 per cent compared to traditional marine fuels.

PROMAN STENA BULK, a joint venture between Stena Bulk and Proman Shipping, has finalised an agreement to build a third methanol-powered vessel under the partnership. Already named Stena Prosperous, the new ship will join Stena ProPatria and Stena ProMare in the Proman Stena fleet in the second half of 2022. Each vessel will use 12,500 tonnes of methanol as a marine fuel per year, significantly reducing emissions in their normal commercial operations compared to conventional marine fuels.

These new methanol-ready 49,900-dwt IMO II tankers will benefit from several design and technical improvements to optimise energy and fuel efficiency. The latest generation MAN

reduces NOx emissions without the need for costly catalytic conversion technology.

The vessels will also be equipped with the latest energy efficiency technology, including continually controlled combustion, optimised tuning, redesigned and aerodynamic hull lines, and an energy shaft generator, reducing fuel consumption and helping to meet strict emissions criteria.

For Proman Shipping, these new vessels demonstrate a long-term commitment to methanol as a marine fuel for the future.

Ahead of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) updated strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the global shipping industry, due to be adopted in 2023,

PLANS FOR TRADING Stena Prosperous will initially be employed

by Stena Bulk in its traded pool of ships for a period of two to three years. It will therefore be the first methanol dual-fuel powered ship trading in the chemicals/CPP market for a conventional shipowner without an active contract to a methanol producer. After this initial period, Stena Prosperous will enter into a long-term timecharter with Proman Shipping.

“In Stena Bulk we are very satisfied with the development of our joint venture with Proman Shipping, adding one more vessel into our joint venture,” says Erik Hånell, president/CEO of Stena Bulk. “We see the strength in our joint commitment leading to new and exciting opportunities for us. It is in Stena Bulk´s objectives to contribute to making the shipping industry more sustainable. This joint venture is taking us in that direction with a partner whom we share many values that we believe will develop the shipping industry with new features driving improved performance and efficiency.”

David Cassidy, chief executive of Proman, says: “This is an opportunity to build on the already excellent work we have achieved with Stena in our joint venture, which is now a three-vessel programme for the industryleading IMOIIMeMAX dual-fuel vessels. These new vessels demonstrate our commitment to leading the transition towards methanol as a reliable marine fuel and are an exciting development for us as vessel owners. The vessels’ state-of-the-art fuel consumption and engine technology represent an important step in the move towards more sustainable shipping. In making Stena Prosperous available to the general market for the transportation of chemicals, we seek to encourage other

dual-fuel engines will feature new water and fuel emulsion technology, which significantly

these vessels will set a new benchmark for mid-range (MR) tanker sustainability.

Methanol is already available at over 100 ports worldwide, including at all major bunkering hubs. It is a clean burning, safe to carry and fully biodegradable fuel, which provides a reduction in carbon dioxide

producers to gain experience with these innovative methanol-powered vessels and to benefit from the significant reduction in emissions that operating these vessels will deliver.” www.stenabulk.com www.proman.org

LIVE GREEN AND PROSPER METHANOL • STENA BULK AND PROMAN SHIPPING HAVE EXPANDED THEIR COOPERATION WITH A THIRD METHANOLFUELLED MID-RANGE TANKER SET TO JOIN THE FLEET IN 2022

 THE NEW TRIO OF METHANOL-FUELLED TANKERS WILL FEATURE OTHER EFFICIENCY MEASURES

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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CLEAN AIR ACT LPG FUEL • FOR GAS CARRIERS, LPG IS EMERGING AS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO REDUCE EMISSIONS. LEADING VLGC OPERATOR BW LPG IS SHOWING THE WAY IN THE TRANSITION

BW LPG HAS completed the conversion of its 2015-built very large gas carrier (VLGC) BW Gemini to run on LPG fuel and, following a week of gas and sea trials, the ship embarked on its first gas-fuelled voyage at the beginning of November.

BW Gemini is the first VLGC to be fuelled by LPG; its new main engine runs on LPG and can switch seamlessly to traditional fuel when necessary. The propulsion system was tested to its limits off Hong Kong in October, observed by experts from MAN ES, the engine manufacturer, BW LPG’s own newbuilding and projects and technical departments, and classification society DNV-GL, which has awarded the required classification certificate to the ship.

“On behalf of the management of BW LPG, we thank our BW team on site and in office, and partners such as MAN ES, Wartsila Gas Solutions, DNV-GL, Isle of Man flag and You Lian Shekou dockyard,” says Pontus Berg, BW LPG’s executive vice-president, technical and operations. “BW Gemini is a testament to what industry collaboration can achieve – together, we can pioneer the technology needed to decarbonise shipping and realise a zerocarbon future.”

“We are very pleased to have worked with BW LPG to realise this ground-breaking retrofit project,” adds Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, regional manager, south-east Asia

that not only can shipowners step up to cut their emissions in operation, but that the conversion itself can play a role in reducing the industry’s overall environmental impact.

We hope more owners will look to these kinds of new fuels as the industry moves to decarbonise and DNV-GL stands ready to support the industry with our unmatched technical expertise and unique classification solutions.”

EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS BW Gemini’s first LPG-fuelled voyage took the ship from Hong Kong across the Pacific Ocean, through the Panama Canal and on to the Enterprise Products Partners terminal in Houston for loading. The outbound voyage

was set to use full LPG propulsion and was expected to produce 20 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions compared to compliant fuels, and 10 per cent less fuel.

In addition, according to Wärtsilä, which supplied its pioneering LPG fuel supply system for the conversion, running on LPG reduces sulphur oxide emissions by some 97 per cent, compared to traditional fuels. The conversion project took around two months and was carried out at the Yiu Lian Dockyard in Shenzhen, China. Another 11 of BW LPG’s VLGCs are to be similarly converted over the coming year.

In additional to the fuel supply system, Wärtsilä was responsible for the design of the conversion, two 930-m³ fuel tanks with pumps and pipework, pump skids and the cargo handling system. Kjell Ove Ulstein, director of marketing and sales at Wärtsilä, says: “World firsts are always exciting and we congratulate BW LPG on their commitment to pursuing the adoption of LPG as a long-term viable and sustainable marine fuel. The project highlights once again Wärtsilä’s leading position in bringing innovative fuel gas solutions, along with the customer benefits they offer, to the market.” www.bwlpg.com www.wartsila.com

at DNV-GL Maritime. “With the pioneering conversion to LPG, BW LPG is demonstrating

 BW LPG IS CONVERTING 12 OF ITS EXISTING GAS TANKERS TO RUN ON LPG FUEL

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HOUSTON-BASED KIRBY Corporation, the largest domestic tank barge operator in the US, reported net earnings for the third quarter of $27.5m, down from $48.0m a year earlier, with revenues down 25.5 per cent year-onyear at $496.6m.

Explaining the slump in earnings, David Grzebinski, Kirby’s president and CEO, says: “The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated economic slowdown adversely impacted Kirby’s businesses during the third quarter. Although general economic activity was slightly improved and increased profitability was realised in

the marine transportation businesses experienced lower volumes and barge utilisation.

“In marine transportation, our inland and coastal businesses were heavily affected by weak demand for liquid products including refined products, crude, and black oil,” Grzebinski adds. “Throughout the third quarter, refinery utilisation was well below historical norms as many of our customers experienced low consumer demand, high product inventories, and unfavourable economics. Additionally, a very active hurricane season resulted in further

BARGE DEMAND LOW In the inland market, average barge utilisation fell from the low 90 per cent range in third quarter 2019 to the low 70 per cent range, with average spot rates off by some 10 per cent year-on-year. Contract renewals were also done at weaker prices. Revenues were 22 per cent lower, despite the impact of the acquisition of the assets of Savage Inland Marine in April 2020.

In the coastal sector, spot market activity was limited and barge utilisation was in the mid-70 per cent range. Spot market pricing was generally stable, though, but average term contract prices were slightly off the 2019 levels.

Looking ahead, Grzebinski says: “Although Kirby continues to be challenged by unprecedented declines in demand as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, our business activity and utilisation levels have bottomed. Economic activity is slowly improving, and we have seen pockets of increased demand. While this is encouraging, in the fourth quarter our results are expected to be impacted by continued low barge utilisation and pricing pressure, normal seasonality from weather in marine, and likely, customer budget exhaustion in distribution and services.

“Looking beyond 2020, while the timing and magnitude of a material economic recovery are unclear, we believe this demand-driven downturn is temporary and demand will rebound sometime in 2021,” Grzebinski adds.

“In marine, pricing typically does not improve until barge utilisation is in the mid-80 per cent range. Nevertheless, Kirby is in a strong financial position, and we will continue to tightly manage our costs, maintain capital discipline, generate free cash flow, and pay down debt.”

Absent potential new lockdowns related to Covid-19, Kirby expects improvement in barge utilisation going forward as refinery and chemical plants along the Gulf Coast recover from recent hurricanes and economic

the distribution and services segment,

reductions in volumes and widespread disruptions including prolonged closures of some refineries, chemical plants, waterways, and major ports. These challenging market conditions during the quarter contributed to low barge utilisation and limited spot market activity.”

activity gradually increases. The reopening of the Illinois River in October is also expected to contribute some sequential improvement in barge utilisation. However, until a meaningful recovery in demand occurs, market conditions are expected to remain challenging. kirbycorp.com

LOW WATER MARK TANK BARGES • COASTAL AND WATERWAY BARGING IN THE US HAS BEEN SEVERELY AFFECTED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS AND LOW COMMODITY PRICES, AS KIRBY’S LATEST RESULT REVEAL

 THE DOUBLE HIT OF COVID-19 AND LOW OIL PRICES HAVE REDUCED BARGE UTILISATION BOTH ON INLAND AND COASTAL OPERATIONS

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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NEWS BULLETIN

TANKER SHIPPING

TOUGH ON EPIC

Epic Gas, a specialist in fully pressurised gas tanker shipping, has reported third quarter revenues of $45.4m, down 3.6 per cent year-on-year, with EBITDA slipping 6 per cent to $12.6m. Operating results were impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, with CEO Charles Maltby noting: “While there are positive pockets of demand for residential LPG use, beneficial macro trends of over 5 per cent forecast growth in global LPG seaborne trade for the year have been further revised down to 0.4 per cent growth. This in turn is lower than a forecast 2.1 per cent net growth in pressurised fleet capacity by the end of the year.

“Covid-19 has also led to increased operational expenses, up by 13.5 per cent per calendar day on the second quarter, driven by our efforts to deploy and repatriate seafarers, and increased freight forwarding costs for spares,” Maltby continues. “A secondary impact has been increased off-hire for our fleet as we position vessels to facilitate crew changes and work to catch up on deferred scheduled dry docks from the second quarter.”

“We expect challenges to remain with us into 2021,” Maltby adds. “As we head towards

seasonal holidays, we fully endorse the work of international organisations and industry bodies to facilitate safe crew transfers and are grateful to our seafarers for their efforts.” www.epic-gas.com ASAHI GOES ELECTRIC

Asahi Tanker has placed orders at Japanese yards for two zero-emission bunker tankers.

The two newbuildings, from Koa Sangyou and Imura Zosen, will be equipped with large-capacity lithium ion batteries and will work in Tokyo Bay. The ships use the ‘e5 tanker’ design developed by the e5 Lab consortium in which Asahi Tanker is participating, and will not only achieve zero emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides but will also be quieter than standard vessels, contributing to a more comfortable work environment for crew. They will also adopt automated equipment and digital tools to reduce the onboard workload and increase efficiency. Deliveries are scheduled for March 2022 and March 2023. www.asahi-tanker.com

ODFJELL COMPLETES SERIES

Odfjell has taken delivery of Bow Excellence, the last in its six-strong series of newbuildings at Hudong-Zhonghua. The 38,235-dwt chemical tanker features 40 cargo tanks in Duplex 2205 stainless steel and an ECO hull design for improved energy efficiency.

“The delivery of Bow Excellence marks the completion of our building programme at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard,” says Odfjell COO Harald Fotland. “This has been an exciting journey with excellent support from all parties involved. As a consequence, we now operate six of the world’s most sophisticated chemical tankers: environmentally friendly and well suited for our customers’ present and future requirements.” www.odfjell.com FIRST OF SIX FOR AVENIR

Avenir LNG has taken delivery of Avenir Advantage, the first of two 7,500-m3 LNG bunkering vessels being built by Keppel Offshore & Marine at its Nantong yard. The new vessel will go on a three-year charter to Petronas LNG to supply bunkers to LNGfuelled ships and distribute LNG to smallscale customers in Malaysia.

“The flexible design of our vessels allows us to support the development of the LNG bunker fuel market whilst adding to the global small-scale supply fleet, thereby supporting our strategic objective of supplying natural gas to otherwise inaccessible areas,” says Milorad Doljanin, Avenir CEO. Avenir LNG is a joint venture between Stolt-Nielsen, Höegh LNG and Golar LNG. It is currently building a fleet of six LNG bunkering vessels of 7,500 m3 and 20,000 m3 and is involved in developing the HIGAS LNG import facility in Sardinia. avenirlng.com ABS ON AMMONIA

ABS has published guidance on the use of ammonia as fuel for ships, designed to provide information for shipowners considering the ammonia option in the short and long-term.

“Ammonia is a zero-carbon fuel that can enter the global market relatively quickly and help meet the IMO’s GHG reduction target for

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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2050,” says Georgios Plevrakis, director, global sustainability at ABS. “It offers shipowners and operators a zero-carbon tank-to-wake emissions profile but is not without challenges, not least the greater prescriptive requirements for containment and equipment than most of the other alternative fuels under consideration and the need for development for supply-side infrastructure. This guidance underscores how ABS is well-positioned to assist owners, operators, shipbuilders and original equipment manufacturers as they consider the practical implications of the use of ammonia as fuel.” ww2.eagle.org PANDAS FOR PETREDEC

Petredec had contracted for up to six ‘Pandaclass’ 93,000-m3 dual-fuel VLGCs at Jiangnan Shipyard. Three firm orders are due for delivery in the first half of 2023 and the contract includes options on three more, also for 2023 delivery. These new ships were designed by Jiangnan in conjunction with DNV-GL and feature improved hull efficiency and lower fuel consumption.

“Petredec has always been at the forefront of new technology and this order continues our tradition of investing in the most efficient and environmentally friendly solution,” says Petredec’s fleet director Phillip Harwood.

“We are convinced that using LPG as bunker fuel in the MAN ES LGIP engine is the best contributor to achieving the targeted 40 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.”

Giles Fearn, CEO of Petredec Group, adds: “We are proud to have ordered the next generation of VLGCs, which marks an important step for both us and the industry towards de-carbonisation by emitting 30 per cent less CO2 than the previous generation 84,000-m3 ships burning LSFO. It clearly positions Petredec as the pre-eminent owner of VLGCs with dual fuel LPG and we are excited for what this next chapter in the company’s evolution will bring.”

Petredec currently has 21 VLGCs on the water, making it the second largest VLGC owner in the world. Its fleet includes four scrubber-fitted 84,000-m3 units delivered from Jiangnan Shipyard earlier this year,

bringing the average age of its fleet down to 3.5 years. www.petredec.com MISC RECEIVES VLEC

MISC has taken delivery of Seri Everest, the first of six very large ethane carriers (VLECs) building at Hyundai HI and Samsung HI. The 98,000-m3 newbuildings were acquired in July from Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical, which will timecharter them back for 15 years.

“We are proud to welcome Seri Everest, our first VLEC, into MISC’s existing fleet,” says Yee Yang Chen, president/CEO of MISC. “With this first delivery, our VLEC has set a new benchmark in the ethane market. Seri Everest has the capacity of transporting large scale ethane over long distance while ensuring the highest level of safety and reliability.

We hope to continue to capitalise on this opportunity as we are confident that we will gain a strong foothold to cater to the increasing demand in this niche segment.”

The remaining five VLECs are due to be delivered in the first half of 2021. www.misc.com.my

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COMING TOGETHER PORTS • TARRAGONA ONCE MORE HOSTED ITS MED HUB DAY, THIS YEAR IN VIRTUAL FORMAT, TO HELP PROMOTE THE ROLE OF PORTS AND TERMINALS IN THE CHEMICAL SUPPLY CHAIN THE IDEA OF a ‘hub port’ is hard to define but it has certain characteristics: it acts as a central distribution point, breaking bulk and handling imports, exports and transhipment cargoes equally well. It likely has a significant hinterland and good connectivity by various modes and is probably accompanied by a vibrant industrial sector.

For the chemical trades there are certain well-identified hubs around the world and, in Europe, that means the ‘ARA’ ports – Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp – with

There is nothing equivalent in southern Europe, though. The port and bulk liquids storage terminal picture is very fragmented, particularly in Italy and further east. Over the past decade, though, the port of Tarragona in Spain’s Catalonia region has made a great effort to develop the idea of a hub port for the western Mediterranean. It has some great advantages: a well established and significant refining and petrochemical industry, deepwater access and decent hinterland connections, let down only by the lack of

their regional partners along the coast between Hamburg and Le Havre and inland on the Rhine system.

a Euro-gauge rail link.

Together with ChemMed, the port of Tarragona has for the past three years organised an event, the Med Hub Day, to bring together stakeholders and experts in the area of ports and terminals to discuss the role of ports, terminals and other logistics players

 PORT TARRAGONA HAS INVESTED HEAVILY IN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CHEMICAL TRADE

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

in the development not just of the ports themselves but also their client industries, with a specific focus on the petrochemical sector.

This year, the IV Med Hub Day was by necessity online, like all other events. While that hampered the possibility of informal networking – despite a ‘speed networking’ session being included online – the organisers did, over the course of a few hours on 19 and 20 November, bring together engaged and engaging speakers to discuss the issues pertinent to the bulk liquids storage and port sectors.

Perhaps predictably, those issues were dominated by how industry has coped during the Covid-19 pandemic, how that pandemic has influenced corporate behaviour, and how the wider oil, gas and chemical industries are going to face up to the challenges of sustainability, decarbonisation and the circular economy in a post-pandemic world.

THE BIGGER PICTURE Speakers at the IV Med Hub day came from ports in the Mediterranean and northern Europe, bulk liquids storage terminals and chemical manufacturers in the same regions, and some external consultants who brought their own perspective on issues such as the regional tanker market and the impact

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of the ‘IMO 2020’ rule on maritime and terminal operations.

But perhaps the most notable speaker was Antonio Turiel, senior researcher at Spain’s High Council for Scientific Research, whose paper addressed the impending transformation of the energy markets in an age of Covid-19.

Turiel began by looking at the dramatic slump in oil prices in early 2020; while this was partly the result of the sudden fall in end-user demand as a result of pandemicrelated travel restrictions, and partly to do with increased output by Saudi Arabia in an attempt to shore up its market share, its origins go back further. There has, Turiel said, been a significant reduction by oil companies in upstream activities over several years – exploration and production have simply been less profitable.

As a result, new oil production is not coming onstream fast enough to replace ageing reserves and as a result, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, global oil output could now decline sharply in the near term. Investment in existing fields could reduce the rate of decline, but energy firms have shown little interest in making significant investments during the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – as have corporations in other, related fields.

The energy majors are also looking at a future where the demands of sustainability and decarbonisation are likely to put a lid on oil demand. Meanwhile, oil is getting increasingly expensive to produce and, at current prices, fracking is essentially uneconomic. Firms involved in fracking in the US are, Turiel said, often highly leveraged and are struggling to meet their debts – he expects some bankruptcies soon.

If mobility is going to continue, alternatives need to be found, and quickly. Turiel offered his views on the pros and cons of the contenders.

Firstly, natural gas: production is still increasing around the world and there is a large and well established distribution network. LNG has been around for decades and its handling is well understood; new liquefaction and regasification facilities are being opened. On the other hand, there is competition for natural gas supplies from other sectors, including power generation, and the long-distance transport of LNG is expensive. Applying LNG as a transport fuel is also expensive in terms of retrofitting engines, though more attractive for newbuilds.

Hydrogen is the alternative fuel attracting the most investment in Europe at the moment.

It has a high energy density per mass and very clean exhaust; it also allows direct conversion of electricity to fuel. Hydrogen can be synthesised from water and, if renewable electricity is used, is carbon-free (although at present almost all is derived from natural gas). Ports would be well placed to provide hydrogen through electrolysis, using offshore wind power, Turiel observed. The downsides of hydrogen include the fact that its energy density per volume is very low; the movement

of liquefied hydrogen requires very highpressure tanks (at least 700 bar); if used in fuel cells, its energy efficiency is very low, and worse in direct burning. There are also engineering challenges posed by the deeply cryogenic temperature it needs to be reduced to in order to liquefy.

Electricity offers an easy route into decarbonisation in some applications, particularly for rail. It has a high energy efficiency and, with regenerative braking, some energy can be recovered. Disadvantages include low energy density and limited autonomy. Further ahead, there are concerns about the availability of cobalt and lithium in sufficient quantities to manufacture all the batteries that will be required.

But, Turiel continued, the EU’s Green Deal demands a complete net decarbonisation by 2050; this points to the use of green technology and a circular economy, meaning an increase in the use of rail transport for both freight and passengers and a massive increase in new electrolysis capacity. Along with the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, this will generate intense changes in energy production and use.

There is, Turiel added, no single solution: rather, a combination of technologies will be needed, many of which are already available. »

NO MORE DIESEL In this scenario, efforts need to be put into developing non-oil transport fuels, Turiel said.

In particular, changing refinery economics – partly as a result of the IMO 2020 rule have resulted in a loss of diesel production.

 TERMINAL OPERATORS HAVE RESPONDED

BY DEVELOPING NEW CAPACITY

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We are, he said, in “an era of very, very, very rapid change” and the next five to ten years will be critical for all markets and especially the transport sector. There will be new challenges – and opportunities – for those in the logistics chain.

PORTS IN ACTION As HCB readers will be aware, there are plenty of examples of ports stepping up to meet those challenges, not least in northern Europe. Jordi Anglès Jové, commercial coordinator at Port Tarragona, explained earlier, during his introduction about the port and its recent developments in fostering the ChemMed chemical cluster and expanding handling capacity for chemicals, is already looking at new marine fuels, including LNG, hydrogen and LPG. A panel discussion featuring Genoveva Climent Dewit, commercial director of Port Tarragona, Sandra de Mey, commercial manager of North Sea Port, Javier López, commercial director of Port of Algeciras, and Philippe Guillaumet, general secretary of MedPorts Association, followed up on that

theme. Guillaumet, who was formerly with the Port of Marseille before taking up his current role when MedPorts was formed in 2018, said that not all ports can become a hub but that the energy transition will offer an opportunity for many to grow in terms of both throughput – with new trade flows – and in terms of sustainability.

The panellists were also asked to explain how their ports are mitigating the risks posed

by Covid-19. All agreed that it is imperative that ports provide continual operation – they are essential assets and have a significant role to play in ensuring the seamless supply of hygiene products and pharmaceuticals, as well as food and other goods that consumers rely on. That means, as Climent explained, they have to guarantee their internal processes, such as the provision of pilotage, customs officers, reception facilities, and so on. At the same time, she added, ports have had to monitor and protect the health of their own personnel and take care of their clients, while all the time maintaining a focus on environmental issues. Lopéz said he felt the crisis has brought the community together:

all stakeholders have accepted the need for new sanitary conditions and it has fostered a cooperative mindset.

Coming back to the concept of the ‘hub’ port, Lopéz said it is up to each port authority to set its own strategy, based on the traffic it handles. For instance, the Port of Algeciras is looking at ways to make sure it can handle the largest containerships and is working closely with some ports in North Africa to develop cross-Mediterranean trade. It is also looking at encouraging intermodal transport as it handles a lot of import flows, which generate road traffic.

Tarragona, similarly, is aiming to boost intermodal transport into its hinterland, with the Euro-gauge rail link between Tarragona and the French border now due to open in late 2021. “We have to provide the right facilities to allow companies to move goods efficiently,” Climent said. Trade flows have changed hugely over the past decade and, with the coming energy transformation, that trend will accelerate and the port has to be able to handle all modes of transport.

Multimodality will be a key success factor, de Mey agreed, highlighting the fact that some 400,000 tonnes of products are moving every year between Ghent and Tarragona, going first to Antwerp by barge and onto rail for the trip to Tarragona.

TERMINAL ZONE Another panel session featured speakers from some leading European bulk liquids storage terminal operators. Those terminals play a key role in the supply chain and, said Eduardo Sañudo, general manager of Vopak Terquimsa, in a hub port they help to reduce the number of port calls needed by ships.

In Tarragona, where Terquimsa has two of its three terminals in Spain, the deep draft and having the appropriate infrastructure on the jetties is important.

Nuria Blasco, general manager of Terminales Portuarias (Tepsa), noted that the perspective on hub ports differs between north-west Europe and the Mediterranean, which lacks a ‘natural’ hub location. She said it is an egg-and-chicken problem: the region needs a hub to attract business but someone has to invest in the infrastructure first. Port

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STORAGE TERMINALS 35

Tarragona has done a good job in putting that infrastructure in place but it takes time to make it attractive; she also mentioned that the rail connection needs to be in place before Tarragona can achieve its hub dream.

Martine Union, key account manager at Gadot Belgium, identified the presence of multimodal transport as a key feature of hub ports as it helps to establish cooperation within the port community and attract additional flows. Sañudo brought in the idea of digitisation, saying that the ability to provide real-time information to customers is increasingly valuable and is helping to reduce inefficiencies. “Cost drives decisions so we need to be efficient,” he said. Union agreed, saying North Sea Port is aiming to connect all stakeholders to move towards open communication. She also gave the example of the level of cooperation in the port of Ghent in terms of the import, export and storage of tank containers and the growing use of inland waterway transport to move containers to the main ports.

Paul van Herrewegen, business development director at Rubis Terminal, which has just completed its acquisition of Tepsa, said that, while the ARA ports benefit from being a ‘natural’ hub, Tarragona also has the hinterland and connectivity to play a similar role. In the ARA ports, the density of the petrochemical cluster and the resulting combination of product flows is enough to attract new customers, but terminals have to offer flexibility, in terms of different tank types and sizes, to provide for the different needs of different players.

Blasco agreed, pointing out that a client looking for hub operations is different to one that just wants to rent storage capacity. Any terminal needs agility and the ability to serve both types of customer.

VIEWS FROM THE PRODUCERS Hub ports offer advantages to chemical producers, too; in fact, said Julia Echevarría,

 ACHIEVING CRITICAL MASS HELPS TO ATTRACT MORE CHEMICAL PRODUCERS TO THE PORT

director of Dow Chemical Ibérica’s hydrocarbon plant production, it is crucial. A major producer needs the port facilities and shared common infrastructure, which is capital-intensive.

Cooperation with other parties in the hub is also valuable, especially in times of volatility and strained supply chains. “It’s about competitivity, safety and supply security,” she said.

José Manual Segura, production director of BASF Española, said that having producers together in a hub, sharing facilities, brings synergies while also offering a critical mass to service providers, something that a stand-alone facility cannot do. He also highlighted that the presence of a logistics hub within a chemical cluster provides a link with public administrations, creating a partnership with private companies. This will be key for the future success of the energy transition, he felt.

Ramón Nieto, chemical production director of Repsol’s Tarragona site, also noted that clustering chemical facilities allows all of

should one of them have to suspend operations because of infections.

Also during the panel session featuring chemical producers, Esther Freijanes, supply chain manager at Elix Polymers, responded to a question about the supply chain challenges for 2021. She predicted that the biggest challenge of all will be huge demand volatility; suppliers and their logistics chains will have to be able to adapt quickly, and have in place processes that adapt to the needs of customers.

A hub port makes this easier, she added.

Elix is moving more product onto rail, which offers flexibility, Freijanes added. But she foresaw other challenges: Brexit for one, and the potential for tight capacity and rising freight rates in the shortsea shipping sector.

But these challenges are also opportunities to do better than the competition.

The IV Med Hub Day also featured presentations from Patrick Hore of DB Cargo BTT and Andrew Wilson, head of energy and tanker research at BRS Brokers. HCB will

them to coordinate maintenance turnarounds, ensuring continuous supply and removing competition for finite maintenance capacity.

He also commented that those same factors have been beneficial during the Covid-19 crisis; with a lot of service providers on hand, there is less chance that service supply will be affected

return to those presentations next month.

Meanwhile, it is to be hoped that conditions will have eased sufficiently by November 2021 to allow the Med Hub Day to take place in person once more. www.hubdaytarragona.com www.porttarragona.cat

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GASSING UP

and is expected to have a positive impact on the South African economy.

COMMISSIONING • A MAJOR NEW JOINT-VENTURE LPG TERMINAL IN SOUTH AFRICA WILL HELP OPEN UP THE REGION TO WIDER USE OF THIS RELATIVELY CLEAN FUEL BIDVEST TANK TERMINALS and Petredec have commissioned their new LPG storage facility in Richards Bay, South Africa. The

slight delays in its finalisation as a result of travel and other restrictions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic,” says David Leisegang,

joint-venture facility offers 22,600 tonnes of storage capacity in four mounded tanks, each 60 metres long and 16 metres in diameter.

The facility is the largest pressurised LPG import terminal in the region and will guarantee year-round availability of LPG supplies to South Africa and neighbouring countries.

“The project, which broke ground in October 2018, has come in on budget and with only

managing director of Bidvest Tank Terminals.

“Despite locking down the site for 45 days to ensure the safety of staff, we are not far off our anticipated commissioning date, which is a testament to the hard work of all involved.”

The new terminal received its first parcel of LPG in early October, delivered on a Petredec gas carrier from the Gulf of Mexico. The LPG was then loaded onto tank trucks for distribution by road; the site’s dedicated road tanker and railcar loading facilities, operating around the clock, will ensure constant supply throughout southern Africa

 CONSTRUCITON OF THE LPG TANKS AT RICHARDS BAY WILL SECURE SUPPLY IN SOUTH AFRICA

OPENING UP THE MARKET “We are tremendously proud that we have reached such a significant milestone, both for the project and for the supply of LPG to South Africa,” says Lee Furby, managing director of Petredec, whose local subsidiary Petregaz is handling wholesale distribution. “LPG is an unmatched source of energy for water, space and food heating applications, and is increasingly used in gas-to-power applications.

However, its adoption in Southern Africa has, until now, been hampered by unreliable supply. The commissioning of the facility – also capable of seaborne re-exports to neighbouring countries – will unlock previously unattainable economies, resulting in lower supply prices to the local market and dependable, year-round access to LPG.” “It is more important than ever for South Africa to secure a reliable and cost-effective energy mix to drive real GDP growth in order to create employment and prosperity for all,” adds Mpumi Madisa, CEO of the Bidvest Group. “We anticipate that the stability of supply made possible by this R1 billion ($63m) facility will stimulate the expansion of the LPG value chain, thus creating myriad opportunities for small, micro and medium enterprises and ultimately contributing to job creation.”

The terminal is expected to be able to deliver 200,000 tonnes of LPG per year into the region, equivalent to half of current LPG usage in South Africa. It is located at Bidvest’s existing terminal in Richards Bay, one of three sites in the country that offer a total of 868,000 m³ for chemicals, liquefied gases, refined products, base oils, lube oil and edible oils.

Petredec, a major LPG trader and shipping company, has recently been investing further in South Africa; over the past two years it has acquired the fuels wholesaler Jubane and distributor Oilco, which this past September it brought together in a new subsidiary, Petrefuel, to operate alongside its LPG distributions under the Petregaz brand. www.bidvest.co.za www.petredec.com

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STORAGE TERMINALS 37

KEEP IT CLEAN CONSTRUCTION • GPI TANKS HAS WON A NUMBER OF RECENT TANK BUILDING CONTRACTS, DEMONSTRATING ITS EXPERTISE IN WORKING WITH STAINLESS STEEL GPI TANKS XL has received a significant order from Maastank for nine stainless steel tanks for its terminal in Botlek, Rotterdam. The tanks will be of varying sizes from 1,620 m³ to 2,150 m³ and constructed from a combination of 316L and Duplex 2205 stainless steels.

Installation of the new tanks, scheduled for second quarter 2021, will add 16,700 m³ of new capacity at the site.

Production of the new tanks will take place at Gpi Tanks’ facility in Westdorpe and, on completion, they will move by water to their final destination.

The new tanks are part of a bigger plan for Maastank; its owner, Dekker Group, has recently extended its lease on the site by 25 years and has also acquired an adjacent plot.

Its long-term aim is to double its storage capacity to 140,000 m³ for the storage and transhipment of vegoils, fats, specialty chemicals, oleochemicals and biofuels.

Maastank is one of four Dekker Group facilities in Europe, all of which play a part in the company’s core business of processing, storing and transporting liquid edible oils, fats and biofuels. It has a fleet of 100 road tankers and facilities for the cleaning of those tank trailers and tank containers.

In total, it has more than 100,000 m³ of stainless steel tank storage, 30,000 m² of warehouse space for solid and liquid product and a workforce of some

RANGE OF CAPABILITIES The contract is one of a number of recent wins for Gpi Tanks, which specialises in smaller stainless steel tanks, both shop-built and site-fabricated. Earlier this year its Polish wing, Gpi Tanks Poland, won an order for 15 tanks for the storage of glycerine and ‘green’ glycol from Orlen Południe, which is developing an organic glycol production facility in Trzebinia that will supply threequarters of glycol demand in Poland once it is commissioned next year. Seven of the tanks are being built on location and the other eight at Gpi Tanks’ factory. All are designed to maintain the temperature of the stored substances, a key requirement.

Gpi Tanks has also recently installed a 2,000-m³ storage tank for ED&F Man in Dublin, Ireland for the storage of vegoils and molasses.

This tank was built on-site using a specially designed coil building system; the entire process took nine weeks. The tank shell is manufactured from lean Duplex and the flanges, pipes and supports from 304L stainless steel.

Gpi Tanks has, over the past 25 years, developed its expertise in tank construction through innovation in technology, process and collaboration. It serves customers in the food processing, chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors and, in total, has some 200 employees.

All the projects reported in this article are being carried out in accordance with the local application of the EN 14015 standard; a recently completed project for a chemical industry customer in the Netherlands also had to comply with the national PGS29 directive. Two tanks were built, both fitted with a double bottom under a light vacuum, with a leak detection sensor fitted, along with access ladder and top railing. gpi-tanksxl.com

260 people.

 GPI TANKS IS BUILDING 15 STORAGE TANKS FOR ORLEN’S NEW GLYCOL PLANT IN POLAND

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SMELLS LIKE WHITE SPIRIT ETHANOL • GPS AND VARO ARE EXTENDING THEIR COLLABORATION THROUGH FURTHER INVESTMENT IN AMSTERDAM, FOCUSING ON ETHANOL AND RENEWABLE FUELS

GPS GROUP IS to install a new rail line and build three new tanks for ethanol at its bulk liquids terminal in Amsterdam, expanding on its relationship with Varo Energy at the site.

The project builds on recent development at the site, where GPS has ambitious plans for growth.

In December 2019 GPS almost doubled storage capacity to 282,500 m³ with some 134,000 m³ of Class 1 storage for Varo, which allowed GPS to scale up capabilities and meet growing demand for services at the terminal.

The latest plan will take capacity close to 300,000 m³ and will help Varo Energy’s plans to develop business in biofuels and liquefied gases. The expansion will be financed partly

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

through increased debt following a successful refinancing by GPS Amsterdam.

Eric Arnold, CEO of GPS, says: “This is an important investment that will open up a whole range of new possibilities to support both our client’s and our own further expansion plans, especially in the important focus area of ESG, where we aim to continue to identify more environmentally friendly logistics alternatives for our clients and sustainable business cases in growth segments such as biofuels and gases.”

SUPPORT OF THE PORT The latest round of work also has the support of the Port of Amsterdam, which has worked closely with GPS on the project; the port says the development “fits nicely with our ambition to make as much capacity as possible available for alternative fuels” and that the new rail link will contribute to rail connectivity to and from the port.

“Varo and the Port of Amsterdam are important partners in this project and in our future growth plans,” says Arnold.

“It is the second expansion investment in our Amsterdam terminal in under a year and represents our commitment to unlocking

the full potential of the site with truly world-class assets that help our clients thrive in a changing environment.”

Roger Brown, CEO of Varo Energy, says: “This is yet another important step forward in our strategic partnership with GPS, which I believe shows the commitment from both sides to the success of the Amsterdam Terminal both today and for many years into the future.

“Varo already plays an important role in delivering renewable biofuels to its customers across Europe,” Brown adds. “This expansion of the Amsterdam terminal facilities significantly increases our ability to blend and distribute such renewable fuels in line with Varo’s overall growth strategy in this sector.”

The new development will expand and secure GPS’ future at the Port of Amsterdam site and will provide a more environmentally friendly alternative mode of transport, GPS says. In addition, this new logistics option will provide greater flexibility to Varo’s supply chain and an important transport alternative to respond to variations in water levels on the Rhine, which have caused occasional interruptions in that supply chain.

The project also constitutes an important upgrade to the port infrastructure that will see the storage and blending facilities of GPS connect with the main railway system of the Netherlands and Europe. www.gpsgroup.com varoenergy.com

STORAGE TERMINALS 39

going to be coming in. Operational planning and flexibility are key in a fast-moving environment like UM Terminals. At terminals like Portbury in Bristol and Gladstone in Birkenhead we can regularly be handling over 40 vehicles a day.”

ENSURING SMOOTH PASSAGE of road tankers into and out of bulk liquids storage facilities has been identified as a major issue in increasing efficiency, both of terminal operations and of road tanker utilisation. UM Terminals has streamlined its administration processes to help improve turnaround times.

UM Terminals has now centralised its customer service operations at its Regent Road terminal in Liverpool, UK, from where operations at all its eight sites are monitored.

Lynn McCoy, Client Central Service manager, explains: “We looked at all of the administration going on across our UK sites

streamline and bring it all together. The key was not just about centralising the service but ensuring that we maintained the same quality of personal service that customers were used to. We worked closely with our group business intelligence developer Adam Pierce to create a whole new way of working.

“Our weighbridge in particular had previously depended upon a lot of manual reporting, but has now been moved online,” McCoy says. “Whereas before there would have been lots of paper trails, we have now moved to a paperless solution in which information is

LOOKING TO INNOVATE Bryan Davies, managing director of UM Terminals, says: “We have to continually look for ways to innovate and enhance our customer service in what is a very traditional industry. We want to add value to the service we provide our clients and we believe the Client Central Services function has been a game-changer in providing customers with real-time data when they need it to assist their decision-making.

“It means our team is able to keep pace with the constant flow of customer requests and allows us to provide a one-stop shop bringing together stock information, contracts and invoices and various other information and data. Rather than having to deal with different departments, the beauty of Central Client Services is that customers have a single point of contact. Even during Covid-19, when we have been working remotely, the quality of customer service has remained the same.”

“While we have had a really positive response from customers to the centralised service, we know there is even more potential in the future to develop the client portal and the kind of reporting we can offer our customers,” McCoy adds. “Ultimately, our job is to listen to and meet the needs of our clients.”

UM Terminals, which recently rebranded from UM Storage to better reflect the range of services it offers, currently has more than 300,000 m³ of bulk liquids storage capacity

and started to think about how we could

stored electronically. The upshot is clearer, more accurate and faster information.

“We are one important link in the supply chain. Our job is to look after our customers’ products and their movement in and out of our terminals,” McCoy continues. “Sometimes we don’t know until the last minute when they are

for vegoils, foodstuffs, chemicals, fertilisers, fuels, biofuels and base oils at its eight sites.

It plans to expand this to more than 400,000 m³. In addition to storage, it offers such services as blowing, blending, heating, processing and sampling. www.umterminals.co.uk

BRING IT ON HOME ADMINISTRATION • CENTRALISING CUSTOMER SERVICES HAS HELPED UM TERMINALS OFFER A FASTER AND MORE ACCURATE FLOW OF INFORMATION AND VEHICLES

 UM TERMINALS AND ITS CLIENTS NOW HAVE GREATER CLARITY OVER TRUCK MOVEMENTS

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UNDER CONTROL RESULTS • VOPAK’S REVENUES AND PROFITS ARE HOLDING UP WELL, WITH LITTLE NEGATIVE IMPACT FROM THE COVID-19 CRISIS OR OIL MARKET VOLATILITY

VOPAK HAS REPORTED third quarter revenues of €297.0m, down 5 per cent compared to the same period 2019, reflecting the sale of some terminals over the course of the past 12 months. Excluding exceptional items, group EBITDA came in at €200.1m, only slightly below last year’s €202.4m. Moreover, overall tank occupancy continued to improve, reaching 91 per cent over the quarter as a whole, compared to 82 per cent in third quarter 2019, reflecting strong demand from oil markets and “robust” demand in other market segments.

Vopak says that, while the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on its people and it has put global and local measures in place to protects its employees, their families and the company’s operations, it has experienced a limited impact on business. “All our 66

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

terminals are operational and there have been no significant disruptions to business continuity,” it states.

“Vopak’s strategy is robust and unchanged.

An effective control and governance structure to respond to the impact of the global pandemic, with continued decision-making to support business execution and well-being of people, has been put in place. Operational and financial performance, cash flows and our financial position have not been significantly affected. Our financial results reflect our resilient business performance. Timing of growth projects execution is affected by generic local lockdown measures in various countries. Our focus in these circumstances is on the short-term delivery and protection of long-term value.”

GOING FOR GROWTH That long-term focus has continued during the third quarter with further expansions and acquisitions. This past September, in a joint venture with BlackRock, Vopak Industrial Infrastructure Americas, it announced the acquisition of three industrial terminals on the US Gulf Coast from Dow for a price of $620m.

That deal is expected to close before the end of 2020. In addition, late in the quarter, it completed a total of 169,000 m³ of new tank

capacity at three of its terminals around the world: Durban (South Africa), Merak (Indonesia) and Vlissingen (the Netherlands).

Vopak has also announced that it is to expand its Alemoa terminal in Brazil with 20,000 m³ of new chemical tankage to further strengthen its position in Santos, Latin America’s largest port. The new capacity is due to be commissioned in third quarter 2023, subject to permit approvals.

In total, Vopak expects to spend between €500m and €600m this year in growth projects, including the acquisition of the Dow terminals.

For 2021, it is aiming to allocate between €300m and €350m to growth investments, including projects already sanctioned, new business development and feasibility studies in new energies, including hydrogen. “We aim to grow EBITDA over time with new contributions from growth projects and replace the EBITDA from recent 2019 and 2020 divested terminals, subject to market conditions and currency exchange movements,” the company states.

“Although the pandemic brings a lot of uncertainty and the estimates remain subject to future events, we expect to continue to manage our performance in line with our original business plans and unchanged strategy.” That strategy includes a strict focus on cost control and Vopak says that its cost base is currently tracking lower than the target of €600m set for this year. www.vopak.com

STORAGE TERMINALS 41

presents a significant opportunity to bridge the gap from fossil-based to renewable energy.”

A CONSORTIUM OF ten public and privatesector partners have launched an ambitious hydrogen-to-methanol project in the port of Ghent, Belgium. The project aims to reduce CO² emissions by 140,000 tonnes per year, with annual output of 44,000 tonnes of ‘green’ methanol for use as feedstock to the local chemical and renewables sectors, as well as to meet the emerging demand for methanol as fuel for ships and trains.

North-C-Methanol is the first large-scale demonstration plant that forms part of the North-CCU-Hub programme, which aims to reduce annual CO² emissions in North Sea Port, an alliance comprising the Dutch ports

The new project, set to cost some €140m, is the first of two to be built, along with supporting infrastructure, on the Rodenhuize peninsula in Ghent. The 65-MW electrolyser is being constructed on the Engie site and will convers water into green hydrogen and oxygen using wind power.

Cedric Osterrieth, director of thermal activities in Europe of Engie, says it is a logical choice: “We already have a direct, high-voltage grid link with renewable energy generated by the North Sea winds. We can use this energy to produce hydrogen, which in turn can serve as a renewable raw material.”

This hydrogen will feed a second plant,

ROUND IN CIRCLES The North-C-Methanol project is a concrete example of a localised circular economy: waste from some companies will be used as raw material by others, with the necessary conversions involving renewable electricity.

All by-products of the process, such as oxygen, heat and water, will also be used locally. The project will also entail the installation of new pipeline connections and bulk storage tanks, which is being handled by Fluxys and Oiltanking, with Mitsubishi Power overseeing the integration and coordination of the entire construction process.

“This collaboration means we are consolidating our position in the sphere of the circular economy which already exists in the port,” says Daan Schalck, CEO of North Sea Port. “The port also has at its disposal extensive logistics activities, a massive storage capacity and links via the sea, inland shipping, rail and road.”

The project also has the support of local authorities, as Hilde Crevits, deputy prime minister of Flanders, explains: “This project shows why Flanders can become a leader in sustainable innovation. With our ports and their industry, we are ideally positioned to invest in a circular and sustainable industry.

It provides sustainable growth and new jobs and with this type of project we make a leap forward to a resilient Flanders. Moreover, it is also a step in the direction of becoming less dependent on fossil raw materials from abroad.”

North-CCU-Hub expects a gradual increase of North-C-Methanol capacity

of Vlissingen, Borssele and Terneuzen and the Belgian port of Ghent.

which will collect CO² emissions from local industries and combine it with the green hydrogen to produce green methanol. David Cassidy, CEO of Proman, which will operate the unit, says: “We are excited to further develop methanol’s potential as a clean fuel for the future. Green methanol

from 65 MW in 2024 to 600 MW in 2030, as part of an evolving programme whereby new technologies, markets, and products such as ammonia, formic acid, fatty acids, esters, and proteins will gradually be developed and integrated. northccuhub.eu

GREEN FOR GO SUSTAINABILITY • REALISING THE TARGET OF CIRCULAR ECONOMIES WILL ENTAIL WIDESPREAD COLLABORATION, AS A NEW PROJECT IN NORTH SEA PORT ILLUSTRATES

 OILTANKING’S GHENT TERMINAL WILL PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE NEW METHANOL PROJECT

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NEWS BULLETIN

STORAGE TERMINALS

RUBIS CLOSES TEPSA DEAL

Rubis Terminal, a joint venture between Rubis and I Squared Capital, has completed the acquisition of Terminales Portuarias (Tepsa) from Pétrofrance. Tepsa operates four bulk liquids storage terminals in Spain with a combined capacity of 912,000 m3, handling chemicals, biofuels and conventional fuels.

Tepsa generated revenues of €52m in 2019 and has, Rubis says, “significant growth potential”. The deal increases the size of Rubis Terminal by some 30 per cent; it now has 4.6m m3 of tank capacity across 17 sites in five countries.

“We have full confidence in the success of the integration between the two companies,” says Bruno Hayem, CEO of Rubis Terminal.

“Rubis Terminal and Tepsa share common values and vision. This similarity comes from our histories, industrial cultures, and successoriented workforces. Our new collaboration has already been very successful with the recent issuance of our €150m additional senior secured notes.”

Nuria Blasco, CEO of Tepsa, says: “We are looking forward to being part of Rubis Terminal, with its exceptional growing opportunities for

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

Tepsa and its team members. We already feel as if we have known each other for years.”

Jacques Nahmias, chairman of Pétrofrance SA, adds: “The completion of the sale of Tepsa represents an important milestone in the history of the company and its parent Pétrofrance. We are very happy about this transaction that allows Tepsa to join a group with an international presence, with common values and which will support its continued development.” www.rubis-terminal.com www.tepsa.es BWC BUYS TEXAS CITY SITES

NuStar Energy has agreed to sell its two bulk liquids storage terminals in Texas City to BWC Terminals for $106m. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

Together, the two sites have a storage capacity of 2.81m bbl (450,000 m3) and handle a wide range of refined products and chemicals.

“While the Texas City terminals are great assets with outstanding operations and employees, the location and unique configuration of these terminals are no longer synergistic with NuStar’s strategies for our other Gulf Coast

assets,” says Brad Barron, president/CEO of NuStar. “For this reason, we determined that the best path forward for the continued success of these facilities and NuStar is to allow them to be acquired by an entity that can take advantage of the terminals’ niche petrochemical and petroleum capabilities. We are pleased that BWC Terminals has just such a business model.

“And while it was a difficult decision, this divestiture will allow us to deploy the proceeds to further improve our debt metrics and self-fund a larger proportion of our capital programme,” Barron adds. “We are pleased that our Texas City employees will now have the opportunity to be a part of a strong and growing company with a business model that is more operationally synergistic with the strengths of these terminals. This should create more growth opportunities for the operations and provide employees with more resources to ensure their continued growth and success as well.”

Mike Suder, CEO of BWC Terminals, says: “I’m confident that Texas City is a natural fit for the BWC organisation. Like NuStar Texas City, we store a diverse array of liquids - including hydrocarbons, chemicals,

STORAGE TERMINALS 43

and agricultural products - and we believe the strength of our combined business will help further develop Texas City’s operational capabilities.”

BWC says the acquisition will allow it to further strengthen its position along the US Gulf Coast to support its strategic business objective to deliver innovative liquid storage solutions across North America in the petrochemical, hydrocarbon, and agriculture markets. www.bwcterminals.com www.nustarenergy.com OT UPDATES COPENHAGEN

Oiltanking has completed construction of 78,000 m3 of new storage capacity and related infrastructure at its Copenhagen terminal (opposite), creating a distribution hub for one of the largest fuel retailers in Denmark. The new state-of-the-art facility was, Oiltanking says, built in accordance with the highest standards of safety and environmental protection.

Oiltanking acquired the site in 2016 and has since completely redeveloped it specifically to handle road fuels, biofuels and additives to supply service stations in Zeeland and

Copenhagen, as well as supplying diesel to industrial customers. The three loading gantries are open around the clock and are highly automated. www.oiltanking.com

considering a larger expansion to come into operation from 2024 onwards, contingent on market support. www.odfjell.com

ODFJELL BACK TO NORMAL

Coogee has commenced construction of two new storage tanks at its facility in Kwinana, Western Australia (below). One will store urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertiliser in a dedicated 50,000-tonne tank, while the second, of the same size will expand storage capacity for caustic soda at the site.

UAN is a key product for farmers in the state and the new tankage and road tanker loading gantries will enhance efficiency and ensure security of supply. Coogee manufactures caustic soda at its chloralkali plants in Kwinana and Kemerton, also in Western Australia; the new tank will double storage capacity for the product, an essential feedstock in the lithium sector.

Both new tanks will be directly connected by pipeline to the Kwinana Bulk Jetty and are expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2021. www.coogee.com.au

Odfjell Terminals generated EBITDA of $7.8m in the third quarter 2020, slightly ahead of the year earlier, though net income was well down on both third quarter 2019 and second quarter 2020. Despite the Covid-19 crisis, Odfjell reports that all its terminals are operating normally and that average occupancy reached 99 per cent over the quarter.

Odfjell says that activity levels at its terminals are rebounding and that the average number of handlings was up by some 16 per cent compared to the second quarter, indicating some normalisation in activity.

Odfjell is progressing its growth plans for the Houston terminal, with the refurbished tanks in Bay 17 due back into service this year. The company is also moving towards a final investment decision on a 32,000-m3 expansion for speciality chemicals, planned to come onstream in 2022, and is still

MORE TANKS FOR COOGEE

ILTA NEXT OCTOBER

The International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA) has announced the dates for its 2021 Annual Operating Conference and Trade Show, which had to be postponed and subsequently cancelled this year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Next year’s event is now scheduled for 4 to 6 October at the usual venue in Houston.

“In the longer term, we plan to return to our traditional May or June timeframe for the show,” says ILTA president Kathryn Clay. “But, given the current environment, we decided that moving the event to later in the year would give our exhibitors, speakers, and attendees better certainty for their planning purposes. ILTA is looking forward to bringing our industry back together in person next year for three days of educational enrichment, networking and demonstrations of new goods and services.” www.ilta.org

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TIME TO GROW

MANUFACTURING • TIME TECHNOPLAST, A PACKAGING PARTNER TO MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES, IS TAKING ITS EXPERTISE INTO THE US MARKET THROUGH ITS SUBSIDIARY CORE PLASTECH INTERNATIONAL

TIME TECHNOPLAST, THE industrial packaging arm of the Mumbai-based Time Group, has begun supplying its polymer products to the US market through a newly formed Houston-based subsidiary, Core Plastech International. Its portfolio includes the GNX composite intermediate bulk container (IBC), XL Ring plastics drums, open-head plastics drums and smaller plastics packagings, all UNapproved for use with dangerous goods.

In addition to its Houston base, Core Plastech has production facilities in Chicago and in Nashua, Iowa, the latter offering

 GROWING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION MEANS MORE DEMAND FOR SPECIALISED CONTAINERS

a range of packagings for the chemical industries and also specialised products customised for use with agrochemicals.

Time Technoplast believes this is a good time to be in this sector of the market: the agricultural sector, which contributes more than 5 per cent to US GDP, has been growing at up to 4 per cent faster than overall GDP growth. Placing the Nashua production facility right in the heart of the agrarian belt means that Core Plastech will be able to take advantage of healthy demand growth for its specialised packagings. A number of its agrochemicals customers in other parts of the world – it has production facilities in Bahrain, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sharjah, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam – are also active in the US.

NEW AND RENEWED The company will, though, also supply customers in the petrochemicals, foodstuffs, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, among others. Time Technoplast also believes that manufacturers and reconditioners in the US are already familiar with its brand, particularly the GNX IBCs. The same goes for customers, who often receive chemicals in Time Technoplast packagings.

Apart from bringing its new packagings to the US market, Time Technoplast has also tied up with well established reconditioning companies in the US to service its customers with sustainable packaging solutions, including refurbished and re-bottled IBCs. Indeed, its GNX composite IBC, which has a special three-ribbed top profile for improved and secured weld contacts, robust corners for high stacking performance and rust-free drip pan, has been designed with reconditioning in mind. An enlarged doghouse area makes the replacement of valves very easy and the plastics pallet, which has separate steel reinforcement, gives better performance and makes recycling of the materials more straightforward.

The special GNX model has exceptional sturdy performance, is recycle-friendly, inter-stackable and compatible with its peers, Time Technoplast says.

The company’s tighthead drums feature an extended XL ring for easier handling and are available in a range of sizes; they all have two openings sealed with 100 per cent leakproof plugs with gaskets. Time Technoplast’s open-head drums, again in a range of sizes, are optimised for container utilisation and are especially useful for the packaging of powders, semi-solid products and viscous liquids.

Time Technoplast has been offering its innovative plastics packaging products to a range of industries for more than 25 years.

The company is listed on the Indian stock exchanges and, in the year to 31 March 2020, achieved revenues of more than $475m. coreplastech.com www.timetechnoplast.com

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING 45

with a nominal diameter of DN 150, a G2 and an S56 bung for enhanced protection.

The openings are protected by steel caps.

The front bung is equipped with a dip tube system and a pump system can also be connected to discharge the contents.

THE SCHÜTZ ECOBULK SX-D has received the ‘FM-Approved’ certification from the FM Global Group, the first and so far only composite intermediate bulk container (IBCs) to be recognised in this manner.

The approval, which is based on the internationally recognised industrial property insurer’s FM 6020 test standard, applies to flammable and combustible liquids with a flash point of 37.8°C or more. The conditions required for approval included a very demanding fire test, which the SX-D passed in full, and a comprehensive audit of the Schütz

The Ecobulk SX-D is fitted with a steel hull to provide extensive protection against fire and withstand even extreme conditions.

In the event of a fire, the steel containment basin prevents flammable contents from leaking and significantly reduces the spread of fire. The Schütz IBC thus makes a significant contribution to risk minimisation by providing double leakage protection, the company states.

The Ecobulk SX-D meets the highest safety standards thanks to its special design: as an extension of the conventional steel grid, the

UL LIKES IT TOO The SX-D has also proven its fire resistance in the UL Test 2368 conducted by Underwriters Laboratories Inc (UL), which tested the IBC and certified that it complies with the NFPA 30 fire protection guideline. This confirms that the unit is ideally suited for use with flammable and highly combustible liquids and for general use in Ex-zones 1 and 2.

The 1,000-litre unit is also UN-approved for products with a specific gravity of up to 1.9.

Because the Ecobulk SX-D provides maximum protection for humans and the environment with its double-hull design and closed discharge system, it is also the ideal solution for a further area of application. This IBC can be used for sensitive or hazardous goods such as those of Division 6.1, including toluene diisocyanate (TDI).

Until now, these filling products have been packed in smaller containers with a lower volume, such as steel drums, to ensure that less liquid can leak out in the event of an accident. The double hull of the SX-D greatly reduces the risk of leakage. In the event that the inner container should leak, the containment basin prevents sensitive products like these from seeping out and contaminating the environment.

By using this IBC, customers actively contribute to risk minimisation and save costs within the supply chain thanks to more efficient processes in handling, storage and transport compared to alternative forms of packaging.

The highly mobile, full solution consisting of the container and an integrated containment basin reduces storage risks in any installation site, from the filling line to the assembly

production facility by FM Global.

IBC has a closed, fireproof outer hull made of steel. Welded to the integrated containment basin, this shell forms its own sealed container around the inner bottle of the IBC. Furthermore, all three filling and/or discharge openings are located on the top of the container, which features an opening

line. By preventing spillage over large areas, for example in the event of an accident, long downtimes to handle cleaning work become a thing of the past. This is another aspect with a positive impact on the user’s costeffectiveness and bottom line. www.schuetz.net

TICKS ALL THE BOXES APPROVAL • THE DESIGN OF THE SCHÜTZ ECOBULK SX-D MEANS IT IS NOT ONLY PROVIDES PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE BUT IS ALSO LESS LIKELY TO LEAK ITS PRODUCT

 KEEPING PRODUCT IN THE IBC IN A FIRE CAN REDUCE THE COST OF HAVING AN ACCIDENT

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BRIGHT IDEAS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT • AS BEFITS ITS POSITION AS ONE OF THE LEADING INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING MANUFACTURERS, GREIF HAS RECENTLY COME UP WITH SOME INTERESTING NEW IDEAS WITH ITS 254 production sites in 41 countries and a workforce of some 16,000 employees, Greif is without doubt a major force in industrial packaging. But that does not divert its attention from the need to look after its customers and a number of recent product innovations have come in response to that need.

In Latin America, an existing customer came to Greif with a specific requirement for a large open-head drum with a reduced weight but the same performance and quality. The Greif LATAM team modified an existing drum mould to deliver those requirements and, along the way, came up with a unique geometric design that weighs 14 per cent less than a standard drum Part of the design (below) was to include four exterior moulded handles, recessed into the body of the drum, for easier handling, and a faceted shape that optimises pallet utilisation.

Another project, designed to improve the sustainability of steel drums in remote locations, involves the provision of semi-

finished drum parts that can be shipped from production facilities and assembled locally with minimum equipment. These ‘Knock Down Drums’ (KDD) (below right) can thus be transported more efficiently, with a single 20-foot container able to accommodate up to 1,176 of the 210-litre drums, either tightor open-head, as opposed to 80 fully finished drums.

The drums come in three parts, ready welded, painted and nested. The user only needs to assemble the drum and test the seams with basic machines. Greif is currently manufacturing KDD units in Costa Rica, Portugal and South Africa.

THE IBC FOR FOOD Further product development has come in the

 GREIF MUST CONSTANTLY UPDATE ITS DESIGNS TO ADAPT TO THE NEEDS OF ITS GLOBAL CUSTOMERS

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

intermediate bulk container (IBC) segment, where Greif is expanding production of its GCUBE Food IBC (above). It is currently adding a third manufacturing site in the US, at Baytown, Texas, which, like the existing plants in Alsip, Illinois and Lavonia, Georgia will be certified according to the Global Food Safety

Initiative (GFSI), giving strong assurance of operational integrity to Greif’s customers in the food industry.

At its IBC accessories site in Bottanuco, Italy, Greif has invested in a high-care production department, featuring a blue resin floor that clearly shows the cleanliness of operations.

Wooden pallets have been eliminated from the operational areas, removing the risk of potential contamination.

Greif has also improved the IBC accessories used with the GCUBE Food unit, including an over-coated HDPE disc and an aluminium foil seal for the butterfly valve. These remove the risk of product counterfeiting and offer improve product protection.

“All of these recent developments and investments demonstrate Greif’s commitment to delivering the highest level of cleanliness and food safety standards to its customers,” says Kevin Kling, North America IBC and plastic product manager for Greif. “Customers can be assured that the supply chain for the full GCUBE Food portfolio is produced in highly controlled, safe facilities using the latest technologies and fully automated production and assembly lines.”

Luca Bettoni, Kling’s EMEA counterpart, adds: “Importantly, investment in food safety at Greif is not limited to IBC production alone.

We have proactively worked closely with our customers in the food industry to ensure that we take appropriate measures to prevent product contamination throughout the entire supply chain.” www.greif.com

INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING 47

The reprocessing of composite IBCs has, conversely, been on a steadily increasing trend since the 2004 survey, levelling off only in the latest survey period.

Out of the total 3.28m IBCs reprocessed in 2019, 2.16m were 275-gallon (1,000-litre) units, of which 1.38m were re-bottled or cross-bottled, and 1.12m were larger unit, of which only 0.2m were re-bottled or cross-bottled.

THE NUMBER OF steel drums reconditioned in the US in 2019 held steady at 25m units, though the number of steel drums sent for scrap fell sharply from 2.8m in 2017 to 1.7m in 2019. At the same time, the number of plastics drums being reconditioned rose from 3.4m in 2017 to 4.7m in 2019, with the number of scrapped drums remaining largely unchanged at 2.5m.

These figures, presented by the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA), indicate what is happening in the wider industrial packaging sector: the price of steel scrap was weak last year, discouraging

RIPA’s data also show that the number of composite intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) being reprocessed was some 3.3m, with a modest growth in the number of 330-gallon (1,250-litre) units.

Looking in more detail, RIPA estimates that 6.97m tighthead steel drums and 18.10m open-head steel drums were reconditioned or remanufactured in 2019. Along with the scrapped drums, that puts the total US steel drum market at 26.88m units. Those numbers are consistent with the trend over the past decade, though in the 2000s around 30m steel drums were reconditioned each year.

BASIS OF REPORTING RIPA’s report on the US industrial packaging recycling sector covers the 2019 calendar year and is based on data reported by 76 reconditioning locations; estimates for the total sector are extrapolated from that sample, which is thought to be indicative of the sector as a whole.

Many of the 76 reporting locations operate in all product lines, though some only handle plastics packagings. RIPA says there are 94 facilities in the US with a steel drum line, 90 with a plastics drum line and 105 with an IBC line, including companies that are not members of the Association, although RIPA says the vast majority of reconditioners operating in the US are members.

As a condition of membership, these companies adhere to Codes of Operating Practice that were carefully developed by industry experts to ensure responsible practices and environmental stewardship.

RIPA and its members take very seriously their role in helping shippers meet regulatory requirements, customer expectations, and their own goals for sustainability.

Around two-thirds of the industrial packagings covered in the RIPA survey are used for the transport of hazardous materials – 61 per cent of steel drums, 68 per cent of plastics drums and 64 per cent of IBCs. These

scrapping, while overall there is a consistent shift away from steel drums towards the use of plastics drums, where possible.

Similarly, the number of reconditioned 55-gallon plastics drums, which increased sharply in 2019 over the figures recorded in 2015 and 2017, is still well below the level seen between 2004 and 2009, when more than 6m drums were reconditioned each year.

numbers have changed little over several years, RIPA says. As such, these containers must be qualified through testing to perform safely and must be marked to indicate the level of performance to which they have been certified. www.reusablepackaging.org

NEW AND PRE-USED RECONDITIONING • RIPA’S LATEST SURVEY OF THE PACKAGING RECONDITIONING INDUSTRY SHOWS A SECTOR IN RUDE HEALTH, BOOSTED BY LOW SCRAP PRICES

 MORE THAN 90 PER CENT OF STEEL DRUMS USED IN THE US LAST YEAR WERE RE-USED

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FIT FOR THE FUTURE STRATEGY • BRENNTAG IS EXPANDING ITS ONLINE ACTIVITIES WHILE CONTINUING TO IMPLEMENT ITS TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME AROUND THE WORLD BRENNTAG AND CHEMONDIS, the leading B2B online marketplace for chemicals in Europe, have embarked on a cooperation to jointly accelerate digital sales and marketing for the chemical industry. Both companies recognise the increasing importance of online sales channels for the chemical industry and agreed to collaborate, beginning with Brenntag’s paints and coatings, and adhesives and sealants portfolios.

“Over the last two years Brenntag has steadily built our Brenntag Connect e-commerce platform,” says Maarten Stramrood, CDO of Brenntag. “The platform is now live in most of our mature markets. We see a strong upward trend in online business and with this complementary cooperation we extend our digital channels further. Our collaboration

with CheMondis will provide our current and potential customers an even broader choice.”

“At CheMondis we are excited to welcome the world’s leading distributor Brenntag as a new partner. It is a strong sign that online sales are becoming an increasingly important strategic component in the chemical industry,” says Sebastian Brenner, managing director of CheMondis. “Customers in our industry are demanding an online buying experience and CheMondis provides for that need.”

CheMondis was founded in 2018 as an independent startup out of Lanxess and has since then established the leading open B2B marketplace for chemicals in Europe with more than 3,200 active companies and some 50,000 products listed. CheMondis offers sellers of chemical products (manufacturers

and distributors) a state-of-the-art online sales channel, offering a full digital customer journey, professional online marketing support and data-driven analytics. Buyers have used CheMondis for several thousand digital transactions already.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE The cooperation with CheMondis can be seen as part of Project Brenntag, the company’s transformation programme, which has already seen plans to restructure the organisation into two more tightly focused divisions (HCB November 2020, page 48). Since then, Brenntag’s management board and supervisory board have clarified the next steps in that transformation and the new operating model that will be crucial in coping with future requirements.

“The implementation of the various measures of Project Brenntag will also include an adjustment of our global workforce,” says CEO Christian Kohlpaintner. “This step will be anything but easy for us, but it is necessary to ensure Brenntag’s success in the long term.

We intend to perform any planned reductions in a socially responsible manner and strive to avoid compulsory redundancies.”

Brenntag now says it expects to reduce its global workforce by some 1,300 jobs out of a current total of 17,500 over the next two years. At the same time, it plans to invest significantly in its network, although again this will involve some site closures. “While maintaining its global reach, with the optimised network Brenntag will improve efficiency, leverage scale benefits across divisions and products, and increase proximity to business partners,” the company says. “The optimisation envisions closing sites to consolidate the site network in geographies and improve the utilisation of existing sites.”

Brenntag plans to close about 100 sites across all regions, half of which are third-party logistics sites. At the same time, it will invest in existing and new sites, create regional hubs, and close white spots in the network.

LATEST RESULTS Meanwhile, Brenntag has reported thirdquarter sales of €2.88bn, down 11.6 per cent

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION 49

year-on-year, with operating EBITDA up 0.6 per cent at €264.4m. “Brenntag achieved strong results in the third quarter of 2020,” Kohlpaintner says. “The Covid-19 pandemic has been with us - as with many other companies - throughout the year and has significantly impacted the overall economic environment. Nevertheless, we once again show a positive business development and our operations remained with limited effect by the Covid-19 crisis in the reporting period.”

The North America region aside, all regions contributed to this positive earnings performance. Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific and Latin America reported very good results. “In EMEA, the positive trend that we have been seeing since the beginning of the year continued,” Kohlpaintner says. “In this very difficult environment shaped by the pandemic, we managed to further maintain our delivery capability and provide our customers with the usual reliable service. The strong customer industries once again included Nutrition, Personal Care/HI&I and Pharma.

“Our Asia Pacific and Latin America regions also posted outstanding earnings growth. In both regions, demand recovered and our strict cost-control measures also yielded results. In North America, the weakness of the past few quarters persisted.

Earnings here were impacted by the difficult situation both in the oil and gas industry and in many other customer industries,” Kohlpaintner adds. “Overall, we are satisfied with this earnings performance, especially in light of the generally challenging macroeconomic environment.”

AROUND THE WORLD The decline in sales in the North America segment amounted to 17.1 per cent compared to the third quarter 2019, due to a fall in volumes and slightly lower average sales per unit. This reflects in particular

 BRENNTAG CEO CHRISTIAN KOHLPAINTNER (LEFT) SAYS HE IS SATISFIED WITH BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE, BUT BIG CHANGES ARE COMING TO THE GROUP

a decline in business with customers in the oil and gas industry, where low commodity prices have held back activity, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the regional economy. The impact on gross profit was ameliorated to some extent by a fall of 12.6 per cent in operating expenses as a result of systematic cost control and a reduction in travel expenses.

In the EMEA region, external sales also fell, with revenues down 6.6 per cent at €1.20bn, largely as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the European economy.

This was more than offset by higher operating profit per unit, which helped operating gross profit increase by 3.3 per cent over the 2019 level to €294.8m.

Sales also declined in the Latin America segment, falling 4.1 per cent to €208.2m, although this was largely the result of currency

on regional economies. Operating gross profit rose by 6.5 per cent to €72.5m, helped by higher margins and a sharp drop in travel expenses. Operating EBITDA grew by more than 30 per cent to €33.0m, mainly as a result of organic growth. Brenntag singles out the markets in China and India, which were severely impacted by the pandemic during the second quarter but had largely recovered by the third quarter and made a positive contribution.

This past April, Brenntag suspended its forecast for the current financial year, due to the considerable uncertainty posed by the emerging pandemic. More recently it has reinstated its forecast, which now sees operating EBITDA of between €1.00bn and €1.04bn, assuming no further significant government measures to contain the pandemic or significant changes in current

exchange movements. On a constant currency basis, external sales grew by 10.1 per cent, largely as a result of higher volumes following a recent acquisition in Brazil.

External sales in the Asia Pacific segment fell by 8.4 per cent year-on-year to €363.0m, reflecting the impact of the Covid-19 crisis

exchange rates. However, it concludes, “As the Covid-19 pandemic will most likely impact the economy for the rest of the year and also in 2021, the presumed business environment continues to be volatile.” www.brenntag.com chemondis.com

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NEWS BULLETIN

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION

AZELIS KEEPS ON GROWING

Azelis has agreed to acquire Ixom’s Bronson and Jacobs businesses in Hong Kong and China, which specialise in the distribution of personal care ingredients, and its offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

“Azelis recently strengthened its presence in Personal Care through the acquisition of CosBond in April 2020,” says Laurent Nataf, president/CEO of Azelis Asia Pacific. “The portfolio of Bronson and Jacobs China is highly complementary to CosBond’s and Azelis’ and will enhance our lateral value chain in this segment. Customers of both organisations will benefit from improved product range and access to additional principals. Furthermore, this acquisition will enable us to reinforce our foothold in the country, perfectly fitting our ambition to become a local champion in Personal Care in China.”

Meanwhile in Colombia, and following the acquisition of Unired Químicas in November 2019, IMCD has rebranded its operations in the country as IMCD Colombia. “The formation of IMCD Colombia will help us further develop growth opportunities in new business segments

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

with our partners in this key Latin American market,” says Marcus Jordan, Americas president of IMCD. “Colombia is one of the largest economies in the region so our progress in this country dovetails nicely with our intent to continually expand IMCD’s reach in serving Latin America.”

IMCD is headquartered in Cota, within the Bogotá metropolitan area, and represents world-class principals to the regional pharmaceuticals, food, nutrition and personal care sectors. The establishment of IMCD Colombia is a gateway for developing the company’s other core market segments including coatings, construction and advanced materials, the company states.

“Now part of this leading global speciality distribution company, our team is thrilled to implement the new capabilities and resources available to us,” says Oscar Clavijo, managing director of IMCD Colombia. “Not only will customers reap the benefits from this integration, our opportunities for future growth will be amplified as we seek to expand our market reach throughout this region.”

In financial news, IMCD has reported

third-quarter net income of €130.8m, up 9 per cent compared to the same period last year, with gross profit up 6 per cent at €485.7m.

“All regions contributed to this outcome,” notes CEO Piet van der Slikke. “We are very pleased with these results considering the challenging market conditions that we are still facing due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to strong operational performance in the third quarter, we also achieved successes in the further execution of our strategy, with acquisitions in Brazil, Finland and most notably India, where we reached an agreement to acquire 70 per cent of the shares of Signet Excipients, thus increasing our presence in the high-growth APAC region and delivering on our ambition to strengthen our global business in the distribution of pharmaceutical excipients.” www.imcdgroup.com UNIVAR GETS HUNTSMAN WORK

Huntsman has appointed Univar Solutions to distribute its polyurethane additives in the Americas. The products are used in the production of polyurethane foams, coatings,

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION 51

adhesives, elastomers and high-modulus castings for the automotive, refrigeration, furniture and bedding, as well as building and construction markets.

“We’re very excited to represent Huntsman’s portfolio of polyurethane additives throughout the Americas as our network, digital technology, technical expertise, and market knowledge are expected to help customers’ efforts with developing low-emission polyurethane systems for better sustainability profiles,” says Nick Powell, president, specialty chemicals and ingredients for Univar Solutions. www.univarsolutions.com CALDIC BUYS INTO BIOPHARMA

Caldic has agreed to acquire Brand-Nu Laboratories and BNL Sciences, two value-adding distributors of specialty chemicals for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, located in the US and Ireland, respectively. The acquisition supports Caldic’s ambition to further expand its activities in the pharma and biopharma sectors, emphasising its strong focus on value-adding service capabilities.

“We are thrilled with this transaction as this will be a major step in expanding our existing (bio)pharma activities. It is a highly attractive, fast growing segment in which we can add real value for our partners,” says Olav van Caldenborgh, Caldic board member. “With Brand Nu and BNL, we are acquiring strong partners with company cultures that are highly similar to Caldic’s culture, evolving around entrepreneurship, customer focus and relationship building.”

John Gorman, president of Brand-Nu, says: “In Caldic we have found a great global partner that will help us accelerate our growth strategy. We can strongly relate to their customer-centric focus and have a similar approach to offering a wide range of value-add solutions. As the companies are highly complementary and share the same values, we are convinced that the combination will be beneficial for all stakeholders involved.”

The deal is expected to close before the end of 2020, subject to the usual conditions and approvals. www.caldic.com

BARENTZ BUYS AGAIN

Barentz has continued its spending spree, acquiring Singapore-based Nardev, a distributor of ingredients for the personal care market that has offices across south-east Asia.

“We have been working hard to strengthen our presence in the Asian market, with emphasis on human nutrition,” says Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz. “We constantly have invested in the knowledge and expertise of the SEA market, and Nardev brings us now very strongly into the local personal care business - business that we know very well in other parts of the world, such as Americas and Europe.

It is very exciting to add new customers and new suppliers in this region. We are also very pleased that the current management remains active to help us to guide into this new market segment.”

The Nardev deal was followed less than two weeks later by Barentz acquiring Sevecom, an Italy-based specialist in emulsifiers. The acquisition aligns with Barentz’ strategy to become a global leader in life science ingredients and to further expand its animal nutrition solutions.

“Sevecom has a very strong position, with patented emulsifiers,” notes van der Wal. “Together with our animal nutrition team and our global network there will be new opportunities to offer added value to all feed

industry customers. We are excited to begin this new journey, together with this specialised Sevecom team that will remain responsible for the day-to-day business.” www.barentz.com BODO AND HENKEL STICK TOGETHER

Bodo Möller Chemie and Henkel Adhesives Technologies have expanded their collaboration, with Bodo Möller becoming the leading pan-European sales and distribution partner for Henkel’s adhesive solutions. Bodo Möller’s existing Adhesive Competent Centre and lab is being significantly expanded to allow it to perform tests specific to Henkel products.

“Owing to its close partnership with Henkel, Bodo Möller Chemie is following its strategy to become the leading adhesive distributor in Europe,” says Frank Haug, CEO of the Bodo Möller Chemie Group. “The next step is planning an expansion of the existing activities in the Middle East, Africa, China and North America. We want to be the No 1 in distributing adhesives and giving expert advice to user companies, and consistently pursue this strategy. The change in production processes and the growing use of adhesives require this service and knowledge of Adhesives 4.0.” bm-chemie.com

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52 COURSES & CONFERENCES

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

COURSES & CONFERENCES 53

CONFERENCE DIARY The global Covid-19 pandemic has caused the cancellation or postponement of many events planned for the next few months. A number of events have also been transformed into ‘virtual’ meetings.

HCB has been trying to keep on top of developments but readers should check the dates and locations shown below as things are still changing rapidly.

JANUARY

MARCH

COHMED January 25-28, virtual Annual conference of the Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) programme https://cvsa.org/eventpage/events/cohmedconference/

AFPM Annual Meeting March 7-9, San Antonio AFPM’s annual meeting for refiners and marketers www.afpm.org/events/292be90000010c

CVSA Workshop April 18-22, Louisville Meeting for industry, regulators and enforcers to improve commercial vehicle safety www.cvsa.org/eventpage/events/cvsa-workshop/

FEBRUARY

IATA World Cargo Symposium March 9-11, Istanbul 14th global conference on air cargo www.iata.org/events/wcs/pages/index.aspx

AFPM Security Conference April 19-21, Houston Conference on security at fuel refining and petrochemical plants www.afpm.org/events/292d4a0000075d

SMM February 2-5, virtual 29th biennial exhibition and conference for the global shipping industry http://smm-hamburg.com/en

AFPM IPC March 14-16, San Antonio AFPM’s annual International Petrochemical Conference www.afpm.org/events/2926d800000001

GPCA Forum February 10-11, Dubai 15th annual meeting of the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association www.gpcaforum.net

StocExpo 2021 March 16-18, Antwerp The main annual exhibition and conference for the European tank terminal industry www.stocexpo.com/en/

Battery Recycling Europe February 17-18, London Conference for the battery recycling and manufacturing sectors www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/battery-recycling-europe/

Tanks and Terminals 2021 March 16-18, Dubai Conference and workshop on integrity management of aboveground storage tanks www.marcusevans-conferences-middleeastern.com/

Internationale Gefahrgut-Tage Hamburg 2021 February 22-23, Hamburg 37th annual conference on dangerous goods transport (German language) www.ecomed-storck.de/Veranstaltungen/ International Petroleum Week (IP Week) February 23-25, virtual Annual week of meetings, conferences and seminars www.ipweek.co.uk Interpack February 25-March 3, Düsseldorf Major triennial packaging show www.interpack.com/ PPC Spring Meeting February 28-March 2, Tampa Bi-annual meeting and tradeshow of the Petroleum Packaging Council www.ppcouncil.org/upcoming-meetings.php

LNG Congress Russia March 17-18, Moscow Seventh annual congress and exhibition on developments in Russian and Arctic LNG www.lngrussiacongress.com/en Multimodal 2021 March 23-25, Birmingham 13th annual exhibition for the supply chain management and logistics sectors www.multimodal.org.uk

MAY NTTC Annual Conference May 2-4, Washington, DC 72nd annual conference and exhibition of the National Tank Truck Carriers www.tanktruck.org/Public/Events/Annual%20 Conference%20and%20Exhibits/Public/Events/ Annual-Conference---Exhibits.aspx Transport Logistic May 4-7, Munich Biennial exhibition for logistics, IT and supply chain management www.transportlogistic.de/index-2.html IOSC 2021 May 10-14, virtual International Oil Spill Conference iosc.org Bulk Tanker Day May 11-12, Brisbane 12th annual road tanker event hosted by the National Bulk Tanker Association www.nbta.com.au/tankerday/

APRIL

ChemUK 2021 May 12-13, Birmingham Supply chain expo and conference for the UK chemical industry www.chemicalukexpo.com/

Megatrans April 14-16, Melbourne Biennial trade show for the freight sector in Australia and internationally www.megatrans.com.au/

Chemspec Europe May 19-20, Frankfurt International exhibition for fine and speciality chemicals www.chemspeceurope.com/2021/

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INCIDENT LOG ROAD/RAIL/AIR INCIDENTS Date

Location

30/9/20

Sydney, freight train NSW, Australia

Vehicle Type

Substance

Details

Source

ammonium nitrate

Exclusion zone set up after leak of ammonium nitrate from two freight wagons at railyard in Greenacre; leak put at “about 10 litres” but fears of potential ignition of leak and remaining cargo prompted strict response

ABC

1/10/20

Bloomington, road tanker gasoline California, US

One person injured with burns after fire broke out on 2,000-gal (7.6 m³) tank tuck; responders found tank well alight and burning fuel spilling along street; several buildings caught fire but no other injuries

Fontana Herald Ns

2/10/20

Kohat, road tanker gasoline KP, Pakistan

Road tanker with 40,000 litres gasoline overturned, spilling cargo; two people in cab injured; driver admitted to falling asleep at the wheel; all roads leading to incident closed by police

The Int’l News

7/10/20

Bhubaneswar, road tanker CNG Odisha, India

Eight people were badly injured by explosion after tanker caught fire at fuel station at Raj Bhavan; reports said three tankers were delivered gasoline, diesel, CNG when the latter caught fire, cause unknown

India Today

8/10/20

Springfield, truck diesel (?)

Ohio, US

One worker at Duncan Oil badly injured by explosion, reportedly during fuelling of truck, presumably tank truck; cause not known, nor is it clear if the vehicle was being fuelled or loaded with product for delivery

WHIO

9/10/20

Guntur, road tanker AP, India

Leak of acid from tanker was spotted at toll gate; responders moved tanker to a remote spot and plugged leak The after two hours, preventing injuries; not clear how tanker came to leak Hindu

10/10/20

Beaumont, truck chemicals Pennsylvania, US

Truck carrying hazardous materials crashed on I-10E, burst into flames; driver killed in crash; not clear yet what chemicals were onboard or whether they caused the fire; highway closed for several hours for cleanup

The News (PA)

11/10/20

Lilburn, freight train ethanol Georgia, US

CSX train derailed near Atlanta, possibly due to flooding after Hurricane Delta; fire broke out in some of the 38 derailed cars, with at least two known to be loaded with ethanol; two crew injured

11alive

12/10/20

Erin-Ijesa, road tanker diesel Osun, Nigeria

Road tanker overturned on Ilesha-Akure Expressway, spilling diesel and catching fire; five other vehicles were caught up in the blaze and subsequent explosions; at least nine people believed dead

Premium Times

12/10/20

nr Romayor, road tanker methanol Texas, US

Tank truck with methanol overturned at Menard Creek Bridge, spilling diesel and oil but cargo tank was not breached; methanol cargo had to be transferred to second vehicle before wreck could be cleared

Bluebonnet News

14/10/20

Meadows, road tanker fuel SA, Australia

Driver killed when his 14,000-litre fuel tanker ran off road, hit tree and overturned, bursting into flames; witnesses heard explosions; some spill of fuel to nearby creek

ABC

17/10/20

Lagos, road tanker fuel Nigeria

Truck carrying container suffered brake failure, collided with tanker with 33,000 litres gasoline on Odetola Bridge; fire broke out, destroying both vehicles but drivers not badly hurt; responders quickly on scene

Xinhua

20/10/20

Lapai, road tankers gasoline Niger, Nigeria

At least six people died after two tankers collided, exploded; fire spread to other tankers, trucks in area where heavy traffic, poor roads had led to gridlock

Channels TV

21/10/20

Robinson, truck batteries Texas, US

18-wheeler hauling batteries (type not specified) caught fire in frontage road of I-13; no indication as to what caused fire to break out but it took two fire departments nearly six hours to extinguish

KWTX

24/10/20

San Pablo, road tanker fuels California, US

Tank truck collided with motorcycle that spun out of control on joining I-80; motorcycle was caught under Mercury trailer, damaging piping and causing leak that ignited; shelter-in-place ordered, road closed in both directions News

28/10/20

Lagos, road tanker gasoline Nigeria

Road tanker overturned on Oshodi/Apapa expressway while trying to navigate poor section of road; fire broke out, spread to other vehicles waiting behind; many drivers, locals injured by explosions but no fatalities

hydrochloric acid

Vanguard

MARINE/INLAND WATERWAY INCIDENTS Date

Location

Vessel

Substance

3/10/20

Kamchatka, — phenol Russia

Details

Source

Authorities investigating pollution of Khalaktyrsky beach with phenol, petroleum blamed leak from passing TASS tanker; similar pollution washed up on other shores, along with dead marine animals; investigation continuing

6/10/20 off Singapore DS Lotus containers

Fire broke out in containers from China aboard 8,600-teu containership; vessel turned back from Singapore, was allowed to anchor at Raffles Anchorage while crew fought blaze; allowed to berth October 15

FleetMon

9/10/20

Kezhemsky, barge diesel Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Emergency declared after 500 litres diesel spilled to Angara River from barge; pollution was rapidly cleaned up but investigation continued with likely prosecution of those responsible

Sputnik

19/10/20

Taichung, Tian No 2 fuel oil Taiwan

Bunker tanker was pushed by strong wind onto pier, suffered hull breach in way of cargo tanks; some spill of fuel to harbour waters; booms deployed to contain spill

FleetMon

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

SAFETY 55

MISCELLANEOUS INCIDENTS Date

Location

Plant type

Substance

Details

Source

5/10/20

Dunedin, New Zealand

fertiliser plant

sulphur dioxide

Five employees of Ravensdown were hospitalised after workplace incident described as “localised sulphur flash” that released sulphur oxide; cause of incident unknown but operator said no welding work at the time

stuff. co.nz

7/10/20

Corio, oil refinery crude oil Victoria, Australia

Responders called to hazmat incident at Viva Energy refinery found leak on crude oil line; leak isolated and brought under control; operator cleaning up spill

Bay 93.9

7/10/20

Ryazan, arms depot munitions Russia

Wildfire spread to munitions depot, reportedly with 75,000 tonnes of munitions; more than 2,000 people in nearby villages evacuated; at least 20 people injured at depot though no fatalities were reported

BBC

8/10/20

Baruwa, gas plant LPG Lagos, Nigeria

At least eight killed, many injured by early morning explosion at Best Roof Cooking Gas facility; nearby homes and school damaged in blast, thought to have occurred in filling station area; investigation ongoing

Punch

9/10/20

Dunaföldvár, Hungary

bioethanol chlorine plant

28 employees at Pannonia Bio plant needed hospital treatment after release of chlorine, thought to have occurred as a result of process upset; mobile laboratory installed to monitor air quality

Propeller

9/10/20

Beirut, Lebanon

apartment heating oil block

At least four people killed, 20 injured by explosion in fuel tank in Tariq-al-Jdide district after it caught fire, cause not known; fire crews used ladders to rescue people from their balconies

BBC

17/10/20

Karachi, Pakistan

garment chemicals factory

Six workers died while cleaning a chemical tank at factory in Sindh Industrial Trading Estate; thought that one was overcome by chemical fumes while in tank, others entered tank to try to save him

Express Tribune

22/10/20

Bang Bo, pipeline natural gas S Prakan, Thailand

Three killed, more than 50 injured by explosion on PTT gas line leading to Suvarnabhumi industrial estate; nearby residents fled after flames reached their homes, some badly damaged; PTT investigating cause

Bangkok Post

23/10/20

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

fireworks chemicals factory

Five workers killed by explosion during mixing of chemicals to manufacture firecrackers ahead of Deepavali festival; thought that chemicals were ignited by friction as they were stuffed into casings

Deccan Herald

28/10/20

Dergachiv, Kharkiv, Ukraine

gas processing natural gas plant

Two killed, nine injured by explosion at gas processing plant, apparently without prior fire; police continue investigating incident, the cause of which is not yet clear

112.UA

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STEM THE TIDE CONTAINERSHIP FIRES • MAJOR LOSSES RESULTING FROM FIRES ABOARD CONTAINER VESSELS CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. A SOLUTION WILL REQUIRE BROAD ACTION ACROSS INDUSTRY THE PROLIFERATION OF serious fires onboard containerships and ro-ro vessels in recent years has shocked the international shipping industry and its partners. Andrew Gray, director at specialist maritime law firm Campbell Johnston Clark (CJC), considers the causes and impact of such fires and the urgent efforts being made by a wide variety of stakeholders to solve this seemingly intractable problem.

The substantial increase in such fires runs counter to an overall improvement in the maritime accident record; there has been a 70 per cent fall in ship losses over the past decade, according to underwriter Allianz.

Currently, as TT Club has highlighted, there is a fire aboard a containership every week and a serious fire every 60 days – indeed, during the first half of 2020, there were ten such events.

This disturbing situation has been linked to both supply chain issues, including the widespread non-declaration and mis-declaration of dangerous goods, and inadequate firefighting systems onboard many of these vessels.

There are some 5.4 million containers shipped annually that contain dangerous goods, according to Gard; of these, nearly one quarter are poorly packed or incorrectly identified, according to TT Club. Undeclared

or mis-declared cargoes that have become notorious for causing container fires include calcium hypochlorite (widely used as a bleaching agent), lithium batteries and charcoal. Non-declaration or mis-declaration of cargoes is generally understood to arise from shippers’ attempts to pay lower freight or circumvent restrictions on the carriage of dangerous cargoes.

ONBOARD RESPONSE FAILINGS There has also been widespread concern about the ability of existing ships’ firefighting systems to deal with container fires. A 2017 study by the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) highlighted that systems originally developed for fighting fires in general cargo ship holds have proved to be unsuitable for container vessels.

Smoke detection and CO² fire-extinguishing systems developed for large open holds may be completely ineffective within the confines of individual containers stowed beneath hatch-cover pontoons that are not gas-tight.

There are calls for more sophisticated fire detection systems, utilising infrared cameras or thermal sensors installed both below deck and on deck.

While the containment of a fire within a limited number of containers remains the approved method of firefighting onboard a container ship, the equipment available is often unsuitable. Many stakeholders warn that new technical solutions are needed to make this approach effective. These issues have only been magnified by the steadily increasing size of container ships from 10,000 teu vessels in 2005 to ultra-large container ships in excess of 20,000 teu today.

Regulation II-2/10 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) has improved firefighting on vessels built after 1 January 2016 but there are many who think more is needed. Ideas include using the ship’s structure to create more effective fire compartments and installing enhanced below-deck and on-deck water-based systems to cool the ship’s superstructure and prevent the spread of fire.

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SAFETY 57

On deck, monitors should be installed to create water curtains which can cool the maximum height and width of container stacks, particularly on the very much larger container ships now at sea. Other innovative firefighting systems are being deployed, such as HydroPen, which drills though the container door and then switches mode to spray water inside the container.

Without adequate ship’s firefighting systems, the ability of a ship’s crew to respond to and contain a blaze is severely limited. Despite the undoubted bravery and professionalism of crews in tackling such fires, external assistance is invariably required. The ship may be a considerable distance from shore and, even when outside assistance arrives, such fires may take weeks to be brought under control. Meanwhile, a further concern is the pressure placed on the resources and expertise of the global salvage industry in dealing with the rising numbers of major container fires.

HIDDEN DAMAGES As a specialist shipping law firm, CJC is only too aware of the increasingly severe consequences of large container ships fires.

Not only have such events resulted in the injury and death of many crew members and others over the years, but the environmental implications and financial losses continue to be significant.

Apart from needless injury and loss of life, potential losses from a container ship fire might include hull damage, total loss of the ship, cargo and container loss and damage, claims between shipowners, charterers and slot-charterers, environmental damage prevention and clean-up, salvage costs, wreck removal, fines and legal costs.

With the increased size of container ships and their carrying capacity, a large container

 THE FIRE ABOARD MAERSK HONAM IS JUST THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY RESPONDERS WHEN A VERY LARGE CONTAINERSHIP IS INVOLVED (PICTURE COURTESY INDIAN COAST GUARD)

FIND A SOLUTION Major efforts are however underway to deal

IMO member states and shipping lines to help identify undeclared or mis-declared cargoes.

Leading stakeholders are also working together to develop systems which reduce risk. The Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) has over a number of years shared information on cargo-related incidents and identified commodities that commonly cause problems during transport.

A number of shipping lines are using artificial intelligence to develop increasingly sophisticated algorithms to search through their booking systems to identify potential mis-declaration, including Hapag-Lloyd’s Cargo Patrol, Exis Technologies’ Hazcheck Detect and ZIM’s ZimGuard.

Other ventures include the Maritime Blockchain Labs (MBL) Misdeclaration of Dangerous Goods pilot, using blockchain technology to verify documentation and demonstrate the end-to-end delivery of dangerous goods.

Meanwhile, IUMI and other major stakeholders have co-sponsored a submission to IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee to amend Solas in respect of improved detection, protection and firefighting capabilities onboard container ships.

Further pressure may also need to be brought to bear on rogue shippers by building a worldwide consensus for those misdeclaring dangerous container cargoes to face criminal sanctions in their home country, with jail time for deliberately endangering life and the marine environment.

CJC, with offices in London, Newcastle, Singapore and Miami, has been involved in many significant ship and container fire cases over the years. Most recently, its Singapore office has acted in the MOL Charisma fire, which occurred off Sri Lanka in September of this year. As a firm, CJC

with this problem from both the supply chain side and in improving onboard firefighting systems. In an ideal world every cargo loaded in every container would be checked before shipping, but the cost of such an undertaking would be immense. At the same time, there are calls for more widespread spot checks by

shares the serious concerns of its clients and the wider shipping industry about the proliferation of containership fires. It strongly supports the numerous efforts being made by different sectors to bring this unhappy chapter in shipping history to a close. www.cjclaw.com

“IN AN IDEAL WORLD, EVERY CARGO LOADED IN EVERY CONTAINER WOULD BE CHECKED BEFORE SHIPPING”

fire will severely impact the global marine insurance and P&I market with the sheer value of the property at risk, not to mention the general average (GA) effort of trying to collect security, vastly scaled up for the largest container ships. With current claims potentially running into tens or even hundreds of millions of US dollars, there is the fear that a total loss of a 20,000 teu vessel and her cargo might exceed $1 billion.

A considerable burden is also placed on the salvage industry and external firefighting services, with the significant challenge of fighting such fires due to the increased beam and stack heights of the larger container ships.

In addition, ports of refuge face the nightmare of how to deal with perhaps 10,000 burned-out container shells and their cargo, many of which are not insured and are abandoned.

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BACK IN THE OLD ROUTINE MULTIMODAL • THE REGULATORS ARE BEGINNING TO GET BACK INTO THE PROCESS OF MAKING NEW RULES AFTER THE COVID LOCKDOWN, STARTING WITH THE JOINT MEETING

the 2021 editions of RID, ADR and ADN so, unless adopted as corrections or addenda, will have to wait until the 2023 editions.

The Bern session was opened by Wolfgang Küpper, secretary-general of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), who underlined the good collaboration and the important work done by both the secretariats of OTIF and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).

THE SPRING 2020 session of the Joint Meeting of the RID Committee of Experts and the Working Party on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (WP 15) was an early casualty of the restrictions imposed by the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. That meant that the experts lost their last chance to make changes to the 2021 texts of RID, ADR and ADN, the regulations that govern the transport of dangerous goods by rail, road

Since then, the regulatory authorities have developed methods to enable the experts to meet in a virtual format and, in order to help them catch up, the autumn session of the Joint Meeting was extended by two days. It was held for two days in Bern on 10 and 11 September and for five days the following week in Geneva. It was chaired

by Claude Pfauvadel (France) with Silvia Garcia-Wolfrum (Spain) as vice-chair.

TANK CONTAINER FITTINGS The session opened by discussing the progress made by the informal working group on the inspection and certification of tanks.

There are three items being considered: the notification and approval of national systems for inspection bodies; the approval of Type C inspection bodies to perform periodic inspections, intermediate inspections and minor exceptional inspections; and the entry

and inland waterway, respectively, throughout Europe as well as in an increasing number of other countries.

It was attended by representatives of 25 countries as full members and representatives of the European Commission, EU Agency for Railways (ERA) and 18 non-governmental organisations.

The autumn session came too late for any of the decisions it made to be included in

into service verification (EISV) of tanks and their reciprocal recognition. Following that discussion, the Working Group on Tanks was invited to elaborate further on these topics, taking into account the comments made, and to report back during the plenary session in Geneva.

 THE JOINT MEETING IS PARTICULARLY CONCERNED WITH MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT AND EQUIPMENT

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REGULATIONS 59

This and all other matters relating to tanks were then entrusted to the Working Group on Tanks, which met online from 10 to 16 September under the chairmanship of Arne Bale (UK), with Kees de Putter (Netherlands) acting as secretary.

The first item on the Working Group’s agenda was a proposal from OTIF to adopt new specifications for the fixing of welded elements on tank containers. This stems from discussions about the new breed of extra-large tank containers developed by BASF and Van Hool which, because of their weight when loaded, are largely moved by rail. As such, it has largely been the RID Committee of Experts’ standing working group that has considered these tanks.

In RID, 6.8.2.2.1 stipulates how welded elements are to be fixed to tank wagons in order to prevent tearing of the tank shell in the event of an accident, and the standing working group recommended that this be extended to cover tank containers; as written, this proposal covered all tank containers, not just the extra-large tanks being considered.

This was despite confirmation from Van Hool and the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) that, in the case of extra-large tank containers, the fitting of elements to the tank wall is avoided.

The Working Group on Tanks felt that this solution would be too restrictive and, partly on the basis of an informal document from the International Tank Container Organisation (ITCO), agreed a more general wording. This was approved by plenary and will appear in the right-hand column (for tank containers) in RID and as a new second sentence in ADR under 6.8.2.2.1: Welded elements shall be attached to the shell in such a way that tearing of the shell is prevented.

OTIF’s paper included a second proposal, to extend the 4 bar limit for manlids on tank wagons to tank containers, which was not

to the RID Committee of Experts for consideration at the November session of its standing working group.

TANKS FOR GASES The European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA) proposed an amendment to 6.8.3.4.6 to clarify that the first intermediate inspection of tanks intended for the carriage of refrigerated liquefied gases should be performed six years after the first periodic test; this countered a suggestion from France, that had not been able to be discussed at the September 2019 session, that the first intermediate inspection should take place three years after the initial inspection. EIGA said that the practice it proposed had been applied for many years and it did not know of any incident arising from it.

Although several experts were of the opinion that 6.8.3.4.6 only provides a derogation with regard to the periodicity of the intermediate inspection between periodic inspections, and not between the initial and first periodic inspection, it was said that it was not interpreted this way in practice. Refrigerated liquefied gases are non-corrosive and non-toxic and this would justify the longer inspection periods. There was consensus that tank containers should be treated in

a similar way to tank wagons and tank vehicles and a revised 6.8.3.4.6 was adopted: For tanks intended for the carriage of refrigerated liquefied gases: (a) By derogation from the requirements of 6.8.2.4.2, the periodic inspections shall take place at least after six years at least after eight years of service and thereafter at least every 12 years. (b) By derogation from the requirements of 6.8.2.4.3, the intermediate inspections shall take place at least six years after each periodic inspection.

There is also a new transitional provision in 1.6.4.55: Tank-containers which do not comply with the requirements of 6.8.3.4.6 applicable from 1 January 2023, may continue to be used if an intermediate inspection takes place at least 6 years after each periodic inspection performed after 1 July 2023.

Poland proposed an amendment to 4.3.3.3.2 of RID/ADR which, it says, contradicts 6.8.3.5.6.

The first requires that only the particulars specified in the latter shall be visible on a tank, battery-vehicle or multiple-element gas container (MEGC) when handed over for carriage; the latter requires multipurpose tanks to show the proper shipping name of all gases to whose carriage the tank is assigned.

Poland noted that the provisions of »

supported. Again, this had been prompted by concerns that extra-large tank containers can experience higher levels of surge than standard tanks and there was a suggestion that it should be limited to tank containers with a capacity of more than 40,000 litres, though this again was turned down. The proposal was put back

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Chapter 4.2 of RID/ADR include the applicable references to Chapter 6.7, which require the names of all the gases that can be carried and also that 4.3.3.3.2 has not been amended since it was introduced in 1981.

There was consensus that, as the relevant information is already contained in the transport documents and orange plates, then 4.3.3.3.2 could safely be deleted for tank vehicles and tank containers. However, there were reservations over the foldable panels used on tank wagons and that the RID standing working group should be consulted.

The conclusion for now is that, in RID, reference to MEGCs will be deleted from 4.3.3.3.2 and that it is the intention to also delete reference to tank-wagons, though this remains to be confirmed. For ADR, 4.3.3.3.2 is deleted.

TANK DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Russia proposed a clarification to the wording of special provision TE 14 in 6.8.4 which, it said, currently implies that thermal insulation must be in direct contact with the shell. Tank wagons for liquid tar, for instance, have a space between the shell and the thermal insulation to allow air to circulate and goods of UN 3257, which is covered by TE 14, can be carried in tanks designed for liquid tar. The Working Group

agreed with Russia’s point and adopted revised wording for the second sentence of TE 14: The thermal insulation directly in contact with the shell and/or components of the heating system shall have an ignition temperature at least 50 °C higher than the maximum temperature for which the tank was designed.

Russia also sought clarification of 6.8.2.1.10 and 6.8.2.1.11 on the methods of heat treatment for welded shells which, in particular prohibit the use of water-quenched steel, and supported its paper with reference to various standards. There was agreement within the Working Group that, in principle, waterquenched steels could be used if they could demonstrate sufficient ductility and weldability, for which the 0.85 ration between Re/Rm specified in the first sentence of 6.8.2.1.11 is essential (though it is not clear where this figure originated). The Working Group suggested, and its suggestion was agreed in plenary, that this was an issue that should go up the chain to the UN Sub-committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods.

Russia also proposed permitting the use of aluminium alloys within the scope of special provision TC6, for vessels carrying UN 2031 concentrated nitric acid, on the grounds that it would align with the use of such materials for packagings referred to in 6.1.4.2.1. As suitable aluminium alloys are now available

that have better mechanical properties than pure aluminium, it was felt there was no reason to deny the proposal. As a result, TC6 is amended to read: The wall thickness of tanks made of aluminium not less than 99% pure or aluminium alloy need not exceed 15 mm even where calculation in accordance with 6.8.2.1.17 gives a higher value.

INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION The UK provided a report of the 13th session of the informal working group on the inspection and certification of tanks (the ‘London Working Group’), which had taken place in midDecember 2019 under the chairmanship of Steve Gillingham (UK).

There were three main topics discussed.

Firstly, the group reviewed the proposed text on the reciprocal recognition of inspection bodies, reaffirming that, once approved by a competent authority, an inspection body may be recognised by another competent authority.

Secondly, proposals would require competent authorities to base the approval of inspection bodies on accreditation to EN ISO/ IEC 17020:2012, or on an equivalent national standard approved by the RID Committee of Experts or WP 15. Austria offered a process by which such systems could be checked, based on the method used to recognise classification societies in 1.15 of ADN, which was supported in principle.

The most contentious item relates to the proposed entry into service verification (EISV).

As proposed, the competent authority of the country of first registration, or of the country to where the tank is transferred, may require an EISV by an inspection body. This could be on the basis of suspicions arising from an administrative check of the tank documentation, or of market intelligence from tank inspections or surveillance activities.

It was acknowledged that an EISV may not be suitable for some sectors, such as tank containers and tank wagons, but it was noted that the EISV is not a mandatory requirement.

It was decided to defer further discussions until the next session of the Joint Meeting.

The Joint Meeting instructed the Working Group on Tanks to deal with three tasks: - Development of a survey for the contracting parties to clarify the direction of the work

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REGULATIONS 61

concerning the application of national systems for the approval of inspection bodies.

- How to proceed with EISV, on the basis of a consensus that the intention is for the EISV to be a market surveillance or market intelligence led activity which takes place on an occasional rather than on a systematic basis.

- To advise on the use of Type C accredited inspection bodies.

The London Working Group was due to meet again on 16 to 18 December and will report back to the Joint Meeting at its March 2021 session.

OTHER TANK MATTERS The International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) sought clarification on the use of tanks after the deadline specified for their next test or inspection, following up on a paper from Poland at the Joint Meeting in spring 2019. In the view of the two organisations, 4.3.2.3.7 is not currently clear as to whether tanks may be filled or offered for carriage in the one-month and three-month periods specified, or merely allowed to finish their carriage or be moved to allow dangerous goods to be properly recycled or disposed of. This paragraph does not apply

 A NUMBER OF TECHNICAL QUESTIONS WERE RAISED RELATING TO RAIL TANK WAGONS

to intermediate inspections, which are dealt with in 6.8.2.4.3; this has a three-month grace period, although again this has led to different interpretations.

Most experts who spoke were of the opinion that 6.8.2.4.3 is written in such a way that the tank could be used without restriction, including filling, in the three months after expiry of the due date of the intermediate inspection. After all, merely passing the due date does not suddenly render a tank unsafe.

However, it was noted that this unrestricted use was compromised by the obligations of the filler in 1.4.3.3(b). It was thought that this grace period could be removed from 6.8.2.4.3, or alternatively that additional wording could be inserted to clarify the situation. A common understanding and interpretation are vital but no consensus could be reached. UIP was invited to submit a new document.

On similar lines, France asked what kind of inspection should be carried out if the period of three months after the date specified for the intermediate inspection has lapsed. Its paper noted that, at the September 2019 Joint Meeting, a new 6.7.2.19.6.2 had been

over many years, saw no additional safety benefits in performing more stringent inspections. Consequential cleaning for the periodic test would lead to high costs and pressure on the environment and additional hydraulic pressure tests could introduce moisture into the tank, thus leading to corrosion. The UIP representative offered to take those comments onboard and submit a fresh proposal at a future session.

France also asked the Working Group for its opinion on the interpretation of EN 13530, which applies to the design and construction of double-wall tanks, where the interspace is under vacuum to provide insulation, and 9.7.6 of ADR, which deals with the rear protection of vehicles and specifies a clearance of at least 100 mm between the rear wall of the tank and the rear of the bumper. Is this 100 mm measured from the rear wall of the outer casing or the rear wall of the inner shell?

Several experts confirmed the interpretation that if ‘tank’ is described, the distance to be considered is that of the rear of the bumper to the rear outermost parts of the insulation system. However, it was pointed out that this

adopted to deal with this issue for tanks covered by Chapter 6.7 and France felt that similar clarification is needed for tanks covered by Chapter 6.8.

Most experts who spoke were of the opinion that the normal due inspection should be performed and, from experience

provision goes back to the original ADR and that at that time, ‘shell’ and ‘tank’ were not so strictly defined, which allowed some room for interpretation. It is also not clear what “the rear of the bumper” refers to, and this should be clarified. A document on this issue has also been submitted to WP 15. »

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Another paper from France asked for direction on the use of the table in 6.8.2.6.1, which contains the list of standards to be used for issuing type approvals. Some difficulties may arise where standards for equipment are introduced into the table when an existing tank type approval does not refer to such standards. I this case, does the type approval need to be updated or renewed? Perhaps some clarification in RID/ADR would be useful to avoid misinterpretation.

The Working Group said that general type approvals must be checked each time a new version of RID/ADR is published, as described in 6.8.2.3.3. If a new, mandatory standard is referenced, this must be taken into account as well. However, it was stressed that if a new version of such an equipment standard were published and there is no end date in column 5, it would not be necessary to update the type approval of the tank. The opinion was also expressed that the text of 6.8.2.3.3 would not allow the type approval to be updated, as the type approval should be withdrawn by the competent authority or the body designated by that authority, resulting in a new type approval. It was felt that the holder should be given the choice of whether to update or withdraw the type approval. The discussion should be continued, taking into account 6.8.2.3.3 and the equivalent provision in 1.8.7.

Russia questioned the consistency – or lack

“THE AUTUMN SESSION OF THE JOINT MEETING CAME TOO LATE FOR ITS DECISIONS TO APPEAR IN THE 2021 REGULATIONS”

of – between the different provisions for the calculation of minimum shell thickness in various paragraphs in Chapter 6.8 and, in particular, 6.8.2.1.16 and 6.8.2.1.13. For instance, 6.8.2.1.16 refers to the limitations concerning permissible stress (Sigma) being based on test pressure, whereas 6.8.2.1.17 is clear that Sigma applies to both test and calculation pressure. It was felt that these should be the same but no consensus could be reached on how to address the matter, as it requires further careful consideration.

In 6.8.2.1.13, the wording specifies that the pressure on which the shell thickness calculation is based shall not be less than the calculation pressure, leaving it open to use a higher pressure, which could lead to a higher wall thickness. It was agreed that this also requires amendment but the document will be kept on the table for consideration at a future session.

Russia similarly sought amendment of 6.8.2.2.2, which deals with external stress values for the internal stop-valve and its seating, saying that the current wording hampers understanding. It should be amended to clarify that the stresses referred to are those that occur in emergencies.

The Working Group did not completely agree, feeling that the provision addresses nonemergency incidents as well as in-transit collisions. In the end, the Working Group felt that the current wording has proven itself over many decades and does not need changing.

The Netherlands queried the interpretation of 6.8.3.2.3 in ADR, dealing with the fitment of automatic closing valves on the filling lines of road tankers. Recent expansion in the transport of LNG, and with the likelihood that hydrogen will also become a more common lading, leaves the risk that flammable gases (the vapour phase of cryogenic liquids) may not be protected by such valves when carried in tank containers. Its paper came with three questions: is the opening in the vapour phase of LNG tanks to be regarded as a filling/ discharge opening, shall this opening close automatically in the event of fire, and shall this opening be equipped with three closures in series?

There was general consensus that the position of the Netherlands could be confirmed, although it could not be guaranteed that all tanks in service have the automatic closing safety function. It was said that the texts of 6.8.3.2 and the standards for tanks for refrigerated liquefied gases were not easy

 INCREASING USE OF TANK CONTAINERS FOR LNG WILL REQUIRE SOME CHANGES TO THE RULES

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to understand and that the text of 6.8.3.2 may benefit from a review. The Netherlands was invited to submit an official document for a future session.

The UK proposed that the manufacturer’s serial number should be stamped on the tank shell to ensure identification if the tank plate is lost or removed. It was pointed out that this is also a requirement in EN 12972:2018, which will be mandatory from 1 January 2022.

The Working Group did not feel it necessary to include this in the regulations themselves; nor should it apply retrospectively to existing tanks.

The second part of this report on the Joint Meeting of RID/ADR/ADN Experts in next month’s HCB will cover the report of the Working Group of Standards and discussion of pending and new proposals for amendment to the regulations.

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NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED GAS LIGHTERS We have seen before, on many occasions, the harm that idle teenagers can do, especially when shut in a room with flammable gas.

Though we have to say we don’t often hear about such incidents in Japan, where – one assumes, as a result of cultural stereotyping – that teenagers are better behaved than their counterparts elsewhere in the world.

That was not the case back in early September, when three teenagers were arrested on suspicion of causing a fire, which badly damaged an apartment in Nakama, Fukuoka prefecture. They admitted that they had been huffing gas from portable cylinders at the time; one of them then lit a cigarette, with predictable results.

Police were called to the scene and found dozens of empty cylinders in the wreckage. Two of the three were badly injured in the incident and police said they were lucky to be alive.

TAKING A TUMBLE A laundry also features in this intriguing story reported by the BBC at the end of October.

Fire crews were called to a derelict laundry in Epping, Essex after three men got themselves stuck in an industrial-sized dryer. The last one in got his ankles trapped in the door, leaving them all unable to get out.

The rescue involved Essex Police, the regional emergency helicopter service and the regional ambulance service’s hazard area response team. Fire crews had to help the last man all the way into the dryer before they could take the door off its hinges and let them out. “We used a range of equipment,” said the watch manager on duty, possibly in a sinister tone. What on earth the three men were doing trying to get into the dryer is anyone’s guess, as there is no report of alcohol being involved.

Then again, this was in Essex.

DIRTY WASHING Another gas explosion of an altogether different kind injured four people in Tainan City, Taiwan in early November. The explosion and subsequent fire also badly damaged a self-service laundry. The laundry was apparently operating illegally – which is the first time we have heard of an illegal laundry, but there we are.

The fire destroyed the building and

DRUMS TO REMEMBER Steel drums are used for lots of things but a Taoist priest got a shock in May this year when he knocked over a rusty steel drum in an alley in Changua County, Taiwan, for inside he found bones, which he immediately recognised as human, according to reports (why a Taoist priest should be able to recognise human bones immediately is not reported).

Police managed to read a faded driving licence found among the remains and identified

also damaged adjacent businesses. Fire investigators found four 50-kg gas cylinders linked in series, in breach of regulations that require gas supply in excess of 80 kg to be located outside in a ventilated area.

The managers of the laundry are likely to face a stiff fine.

the bones as belonging to a 29-year old who had been missing for 16 years. His family told police that he had been having an affair with a married woman at the time; she led them to her ex-husband, who quickly confessed and said he was glad to be able to confess to the murder after all this time.

HCB MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2020

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