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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
