News bulletin – tanker shipping

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKER SHIPPING

EASTERLY BLOWS STRONG

Maritime Logistics Equity Partners (MLEP), a new company formed by Easterly Asset Management, has acquired two stainless steel chemical tankers, Easterly Beech Galaxy and Easterly Lime Galaxy, from Hong Kong-based Cido Shipping. The two tankers are 20,000-dwt units built in 2007/8. MLEP was established to take advantage of what Easterly sees as opportunities in the chemical tanker market given the low orderbook, increasing chemical production and a lack of liquidity in the capital markets for new tankers.

“There is a compelling opportunity to invest in pre-owned chemical tankers, given the limited supply and growing demand for the vessels, a low future orderbook for shipping construction and the expansion of chemical trade lanes,” says Darrell Crate, managing principal of Easterly Asset Management and MLEP’s CEO. “Chemical tankers may not be glamorous, but they keep the global economy humming and investors happy with a steady stream of income.”

MLEP intends to acquire more stainless steel tankers on the S&P market before the end of the year, which it says can provide its investors with an attractive level of regular, growing income as well as capital returns. Its tankers will be operated through Womar’s pools. easterlyam.com

SOLVANG TRIALS CARBON CAPTURE

Solvang and Wärtsilä Exhaust Treatment are to retrofit a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system onboard the 21,000-m3 LPG carrier Clipper Eos in a full-scale pilot project designed to test the system in oceangoing use. Wärtsilä is currently building a land-based prototype at Moss, Norway and is aiming to reduce CO2 emissions from ship exhausts by 70 per cent.

“Carbon capture and storage is an exciting development that we are proud to support, and strongly believe that this technology could be an important key to decarbonise the world’s deep-sea fleet,” says Edvin Endresen, Solvang’s CEO. “As a forward-thinking company that is equally passionate about ensuring the industry’s transition to decarbonisation, Wärtsilä is the perfect partner as we look to scale up sustainable technologies across our fleet and reduce shipping’s environmental impact on the world.”

The project has the support of Marubeni, which has had Clipper Eos on timecharter since its delivery in 2019. www.solvangship.no www.wartsila.com

STOLT SEEMS HAPPY

Stolt Tankers has reported revenues of $310.0m for its third quarter to end August, up from $287.0m in the previous quarter. Operating profit almost doubled to $24.1m, though that was still below the $28.1m posted for the same period last year. Deepsea freight revenues rose by 8.1 per cent on the quarter, reflecting the addition of six ships from Tufton Oceanic to the Joint Service pool fleet; Stolt also managed to increase average spot rates by 16.9 per cent compared to the second quarter by trading fewer low-paying commodity cargoes.

Niels G Stolt-Nielsen, CEO of parent Stolt-Nielsen, notes: “We saw a recovery in contract nominations following the second-quarter negative impact of the Houston freeze in February. As a result of the higher contract volume carried, we were less reliant on the low paying spot market, which has not yet shown any sign of recovery. The supply side in the chemical parcel tanker segment looks very favourable and it is just a matter of time before we will see a further strengthening of the market.” www.stolt-nielsen.com

NAVIGATOR GOES FOR AMMONIA

DNV has awarded approval in principle (AIP) to Navigator Gas for a new ammonia-fuelled gas carrier design, developed in collaboration with MAN Energy Solutions, Babcock International and the Norwegian Maritime Authority. “Obtaining an AIP from DNV for an ammonia-fuelled vessels is the first step in preparing Navigator Gas to meet the future demands of our customers and to reduce our

carbon footprint through lower greenhouse gas emissions,” says Navigator’s Paul Flaherty. “In the longer term, using ammonia as fuel is one of the alternative fuel options we are pursuing, along with CCS, carbon offsetting and improved vessel optimisation to reduce our carbon footprint and lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

“This ammonia as a fuel concept design is supported by Babcock LGE’s operational experience of delivering LPG fuel supply systems and carrying ammonia as a cargo on gas carriers, meaning specific issues occurring when utilising ammonia as a fuel are well understood, resulting in an inherently safe design,” says Andrew Scott, business development director at Babcock LGE. navigatorgas.com

WIJGULA ADDS TO STAINLESS FLEET

Wijgula has expanded its stainless steel tank barge fleet with the acquisition of Frisia, a 2004-built unit now renamed TMS Synthese 12. The barge has optimised dimensions for use on waterways with restricted access, such as on the canals of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France, and will be used primarily in the liquid chemicals sector. The barge has six stainless steel tanks with a design payload of some 1,700 tonnes.

“By using the Synthese 12, we’re ensuring that it’s possible to reach loading and unloading points with restricted dimensions. Another benefit of this vessel is its ability to transport different liquid products, which can be conveyed in the duplex stainless steel tanks as alternating cargo,” says Norbert Meixner, managing director of Wijgula.

“Making precise additions to the fleet through vessels with special dimensions is becoming increasingly important in order to guarantee comprehensive supplies for industry that’s located further inland,” adds Steffen Bauer, CEO of Wijgula’s parent company, HGK Shipping. “Thanks to purchasing this stainless steel tanker, which can be used in many different ways, we’re continuing our strategic focus on having special shipping space for the benefit of our customers.” www.hgk.de

PROMAN, STENA STEP ON THE GAS

Proman, one of the world’s largest methanol producers, and product/chemical tanker specialist Stena Bulk are planning to develop a solution that will help accelerate the use of methanol as a marine fuel as part of the industry’s path towards decarbonisation. The two companies are already collaborating on the construction and operation of dual-fuelled vessels, primarily to transport green methanol, but realise that this approach will be slow to deliver CO2 emissions reductions; what is needed is a simple way to retrofit existing vessels so they too can play a role.

“Methanol is the only available alternative marine fuel that offers immediate emissions reductions, dramatically improving air quality and delivering a clear shipping decarbonisation pathway for 2050 and beyond,” stresses David Cassidy, CEO of Proman. “Unlike other alternative marine fuels, methanol utilises existing technology and is safe and widely available. Our combined vision is to dramatically accelerate the energy transition in shipping and not only talk about changing our environment but to actually make it happen. We will leverage both companies’ ambition and expertise to make methanol more widely available to vessel owners around the world and help them to join us on the transition to a cleaner shipping industry.”

Proman and Stena are committed to jointly developing a ‘Retrofit & Supply’ solution, enabling both Stena’s vessels as well as third-party vessels to experience the immediate environmental benefits and greenhouse gas emission reductions delivered by methanol. Methanol produced from natural gas brings an immediate CO2 reduction, which will be further reduced to over 90 per cent as renewable and sustainable methanol becomes more widely available as marine fuel. www.proman.org www.stenabulk.com