News bulletin – tanker shipping

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

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