Coalition for net-zero household fuels

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKER SHIPPING

ODFJELL ON A ROLL

Odfjell has stuck an agreement with Navig8 Chemical Tankers to add four of Navig8’s modern chemical tankers to Odfjell’s Chempool25 pool. The Navig8 vessels are all of 25,000 dwt and have stainless steel cargo tanks, matching the Odfjell pool profile. The four Navig8 ships will join the pool in first quarter 2020, taking it up to 19 vessels.

“We are pleased to welcome N8CTI as a partner,” says Kristian Mørch, Odfjell CEO. “N8CTI brings first-class vessels to the pool, and we look forward to the cooperation and to further develop our pool partnerships. With this expansion, Odfjell will operate one of the largest fleets of modern 25,000 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers in the world. This is another step in consolidating the chemical tanker industry, and it enables us to offer unparalleled flexibility and service to our customers.”

Since that agreement, Odfjell has continued to benefit from its current newbuilding programme. In early January it took delivery of Bow Odyssey, third in a series of four 49,000-dwt stainless steel chemical tanker newbuildings from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. The last in the series, Bow Optima, is due for delivery by the end of the first quarter. “With these four vessels as flagships, and in combination with a total of 30 new vessels that enter our fleet from 2017 throughout 2020, the Odfjell fleet is heavily modernised and of the world’s most energyefficient and eco-friendly within the chemical tanker segment,” the company states.

In the same month, Odfjell held a naming ceremony for Bow Persistent, first of two 36,000-dwt ‘super-segregator’ chemical tankers building at Fukuoka in Japan. Along with sistership Bow Prosper, due for delivery in June, the new stainless steel tanker is designed specifically for the transport of propylene oxide, with thermal oil heating in its 28 cargo tanks.

“Odfjell was instrumental in inventing and establishing the chemical tanker parcel trade, and we work tirelessly to bring the industry forward through numerous improvements to safety, improved procedures, equipment, and ship concepts. With the introduction of these vessels, we will further improve our environmental footprint,” says Mørch. www.odfjell.com

ACE COMPLETES BW DEAL

Ace Tankers has completed its takeover of the BW Tankers fleet with the arrival in January of BW Silicon, now renamed Chem Silicon. Ace Tankers describes the 20,000 dwt, stainless steel ship, the last of the 13 it acquired from BW, as “an impressive addition to our growing fleet – modern, ECO and well equipped to hit the market”.

It took just over a year for the BW Tankers vessels to transfer to Ace Tankers’ management. Their acquisition boosted the Ace fleet to 40 stainless steel chemical tankers, making it one of the five largest operators of specialist chemical tanker tonnage in the world. The fleet is currently split roughly 50/50 between two trading areas: northern Europe/Mediterranean/ Asia and Transatlantic. ace-tankers.com

FROM MOTIA TO MAIA

Italian product/chemical tanker operator Motia Compagnia di Navigazione has been wound up following a debt restructuring process after court approval in Venice. Six of its nine ships have been bought by a new company based in Amsterdam, Maia Shipping BV, in which the Zachello family, former owners of Motia, have retained an interest. The deal was made possible by financial support from US-based Northern Shipping Fund.

The other three Motia tankers are reported to have been picked up by Pillarstone Italy, a corporate rescue fund set up by KKR, which was also behind the relaunch of Premuda. www.motia.it

ETHYLENE FROM HOUSTON

The first cargo of ethylene has been lifted from the new export terminal at Morgan’s Point on the Houston Ship Channel, developed as a joint venture between Enterprise Products Partners and Navigator Holding. The 11,340-tonne cargo was loaded aboard Navigator Europa for delivery to Marubeni in January.

“The opening of the jointly owned ethylene export terminal represents the beginning of an expansion of the export of valuable intermediate petrochemical gas products including ethylene and propylene,” says David Butters, executive chairman of Navigator Gas. “We expect this trend of exporting intermediate petrochemical gases to accelerate, benefiting our specialised tankers. Furthermore, we are working on the development of domestic and international infrastructure projects that will facilitate this important trend.”

“We are very pleased to join forces with Navigator to bring this new terminal to fruition, which complements Enterprise’s integrated pipeline and storage network, including the development of open market hubs for ethylene and polymer-grade propylene that help ensure price transparency, reliability and flexibility for petrochemical producers and consumers,” adds AJ ‘Jim’ Teague, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner. enterpriseproducts.com www.navigatorgas.com

CHEMSHIP ORDERING PICKS UP

The new year started with a resurgence of interest in the chemical tanker sector, with several newbuilding orders placed during January. Hyundai Mipo is reported to have picked up a $152m order for three product/chemical tankers from a European owner for delivery by end May 2023; no further details are available as yet.

Press sources report that Henghui Shipping has placed an order for a single 23,000-dwt product/chemical tanker with Yangfan Shipbuilding for 2021 delivery.

Tarbit Shipping is reported to have ordered two-option-two dual-fuel 13,000-dwt chemical tankers from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. The new ships will be able to run on LNG as well as conventional fuels. The order could be worth around $200m. Sweden-based Tarbit currently operates three product/chemical tankers and ten bitumen carriers.

Carl Büttner is reported to have ordered one-option-one 38,000-dwt IMO II chemical tankers at Hantong Ship Heavy Industries, with the firm order due for November 2021 delivery. Büttner already has three 41,000-dwt tankers on order at the yard. Its newbuilding programme will extend the upper end of its fleet as its largest vessels are currently six 24,000-dwt tankers.

Rederiet Stenersen is reported to be lining up a six-ship order for dual-fuelled chemical tankers at AVIC Dingheng. According to press reports, the contract will be worth $174m.

South Korea’s Pan Ocean is reported to have ordered four 50,000-dwt product/chemical tankers from Hyundai Vinashin, with delivery starting in June 2021; the contract is said to be worth some $135m.

LPG ORDERING STEADY

Stealthgas reports that 40 new gas carriers were ordered during 2019, down on the previous year’s figure of 47; VLGC contracting amounted to 20 newbuildings, compared to 22 in 2018.

“We envisage a steady contracting of VLGCs in 2020, particularly with dual-fuel LPG propulsion, but in relatively low overall numbers,” the company says.

PSM GOES DUTCH

PSM Instrumentation has appointed fellow Scanjet Group company Maas Marine & Industrial Equipment as its agent and exclusive distributor in the Netherlands, effective 1 January. Maas Marine is a long-established sales and service company for the marine industry with extensive experience in the supply and support of tank gauging solutions.

PSM offers several products and systems for the marine tanker sector, including its TankWatch tank gauging systems, ClearView performance monitoring system and Compliance Systems to facilitate compliance with ship performance requirements. www.psmmarine.com