News bulletin – tanker shipping

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKER SHIPPING

WOMAR WELCOMES CHEMBULK

Chembulk Tankers has placed its entire fleet into commercial pools managed by Womar Logistics. Womar assumed commercial management of the vessels at the end of March, with the transition expected to be complete by the end of May.

“Chembulk’s commercial shift to the Womar chemical pools places our quality vessels in an established and growing revenue sharing platform, providing commercial efficiencies, logistics flexibility and a seamless continuation of the performance our customers expect from Chembulk vessels,” says Chembulk CEO Bart Kelleher. “This is an exciting development for Womar as it demonstrates both our focus on growth and our ability to provide solutions for shipowners,” adds Jake Scott, managing partner of Womar’s parent, FDX Offshore. “With this deal, Womar establishes an important footprint here in Connecticut as we seek to expand into new markets.”

Hans van der Zijde, CEO of Womar Logistics, says the move is “the first of many major growth initiatives underway” following the acquisition of Womar by FDX in September 2019. “Womar is hyper-focused on leveraging its stellar existing platform and reputation to build the best-in-class global independent pool player,” he adds.

As a result of the arrival of the Chembulk fleet, Womar has established a new unit, Orca Pool, consisting of IMO II chemical tankers in the 32,000 to 37,000-dwt size range. This complements its existing Marida (10,000 to 14,000-dwt) and Stainless (19,000 to 25,000-dwt) pools. It will also open a fifth office in Stamford, Connecticut to expand its coverage in the Americas. chembulktankers.com www.womarpools.com

THUN DOUBLES UP

Thun Tankers has ordered a second ‘NaabsaMax’ IMO II product/chemical tanker. The 4,250-dwt design is designed to be “not always afloat but safely aground” and for use in tidal restricted niche ports. As with the first vessel ordered, the new tanker, due for delivery in May 2022, will work under a long-term deal with UK-based Geos Group.

“With two high quality NaabsaMax size tankers we can offer increased flexibility in this niche segment. These tankers will be built to the absolutely latest design, enabling Geos Group Ltd and their clients access to the most efficient and sustainable transport solution available in this segment,” says Joakim Lund, CCO of Thun Tankers.

“As a company we are very confident that our long-term partnership with Thun Tankers will provide us with a fleet of versatile tankers to carry on providing our clients with the service that is required,” adds Barry Newton, managing director of Geos Group. “To have two NaabsaMax vessels at our disposal will mean that we are able to grow our position in the market and continue to provide shipping solutions that make us more versatile for our customers, offering flexibility and access to niche ports around the UK, as well as ensuring our fleet is current and at the forefront of design.”

The two new ships are being built by Scheepswerf Ferus Smit in the Netherlands, with which the Erik Thun Group has a long-standing relationship spanning more than 35 newbuildings. The first of the pair is due for delivery later this year. thuntankers.com

MOL AND NORDIC UNITED

MOL Chemical Tankers has fully integrated the MOL Nordic Tankers operation, acquired in January 2019, into its organisation, with all Nordic business units now renamed and united under the MOL Chemical Tankers brand as MOL Chemical Tankers Europe, MOL Chemical Tankers America and MOL Chemical Tankers Colombia.

“Uniting network, activities and resources of the two companies under one brand puts the MOL Chemical Tankers Group in a strong competitive industry position, where we will be able to service an even wider range of customer segments and to expand our commercial and operational activities to the benefit of our

customers,” says Tsuneo Watanabe, CEO. Watanabe is set to step down in June; current COO Akio Mitsuta will take over as CEO and managing director.

At the time of the acquisition of Nordic Tankers from Triton, it was noted that the two shipping companies had a similar focus, both running fleets of stainless steel multisegregation chemical tankers and with focus on contracts of affreightment. MOL Chemical Tankers had 56 tankers in deepsea operations worldwide, together with six smaller vessels operating in south-east Asia, while Nordic had 19 deepsea tankers mainly in the transatlantic and Latin America trades. www.molchemtankers.com

ODFJELL GETS THE SET

Odfjell has taken delivery of Bow Optima, the last in a series of four 49,000-dwt newbuildings from Hudong-Zhonghua. The vessel has 33 segregated cargo tanks in Duplex 2205 stainless steel and features a number of fuel efficiency enhancements developed by Odfjell in recent years.

“Bow Optima and her sister ships represent a big leap forward when it comes to optimising vessels for more energy-efficient and ecofriendly shipping,” says Odfjell CEO Kristian Mørch. “These vessels are tailor-made for the worldwide chemical tanker market, and add highly sophisticated tonnage to our most important trades. The first vessel entered into trade eight months ago, and the experiences so far have met all our ambitious targets.”

The Covid-19 crisis and resulting travel restrictions led to what Odfjell calls “unforeseen challenges in the final phase of construction”, and while the ship’s first master, Captain Marius Løftingsmo, and his management team were on the vessel quickly, they had to wait until restrictions were eased to be joined by the maiden crew. www.odfjell.com

MORE METHANOL FOR WATERFRONT

Waterfront Shipping is to expand its fleet of dedicated methanol tankers, following the placement of a seven-ship order at Hyundai Mipo by a consortium of owners. The 50,000dwt tankers, which together are reported to be costing some $300m, have been ordered by Marinvest, NYK Line, Meiji Shipping and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) under long-term contracts with Waterfront. Deliveries are due to start in late 2021 and run to early 2023.

Waterfront Shipping, a wholly owned subsidiary of Methanex Corp based in Vancouver, Canada, currently operates a fleet of 30 deepsea tankers ranging in size from 3,000 dwt to 50,000 dwt, all with zinc-coated tanks designed for the carriage of methanol without contamination. Its latest deliveries are fitted with two-stroke dual-fuel engines capable of running on methanol. These include the Iino Lines-owned Creole Sun (49,000 dwt), delivered in December 2019, and the sistership Takaroa Sun, owned by NYK Line, which arrived in the fleet this past November. Both were built by Hyundai Mipo. www.wfs-cl.com

LUNA POOL FOR ETHYLENE

Navigator Holdings, Pacific Gas and Greater Bay Gas have formed a Handysize gas tanker operation, Luna Pool, to focus on the transport of ethylene and ethane, as well as other petrochemical gases. The partners will put 14 vessels into the pool, ranging in size from 17,000 m3 to 22,000 m3. Operational management will be led from the Navigator Gas office in London, with support from its partners’ existing offices in Singapore, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

“With the successful commencement of our joint venture ethylene export terminal at Morgan’s Point, Houston we are seeing an increased demand for shipping gaseous products worldwide,” notes Dr Harry Deans, CEO of Navigator Gas. “To better serve our existing and new customers as a result of this structural change we have decided to expand our presence in the seaborn transportation of ethylene through this strategic partnership.”

“There has been strong demand for ethylene imports into Asia and this trend is expected to continue,” notes Greater Bay Gas. “Long-haul ocean transportation of ethylene and ethane, in particular, from the US is increasing. Greater Bay Gas entered into a strategic partnership with Pacific Gas and has been operating a fleet of ethylene carriers since 2019. We are pleased to participate in the Luna Pool and believe that with the combined fleet, as well as offices and teams from both West and East, the Luna Pool will deliver significant synergies to the partners as they optimise global market opportunities whilst providing customers with seaborne transport services in a more efficient and reliable manner.” www.navigatorgas.com