Quarterly magazine from the Tank Storage Association after

INNOVATING FOR INOVYN

Inovyn, the vinyls subsidiary of Ineos, has set up a partnership with Verenidge Tankrederij (VT Group) to build Europe’s first bulk liquid chemical barge to be powered by hydrogen. The vessel will transport raw materials between Inovyn’s Belgian sites in Antwerp and Jemeppe and will be supplied with hydrogen fuel generated as a co-product of Inovyn’s chemical manufacturing operations.

VT Group will retrofit an existing tank barge (right) with hydrogen propulsion technology, replacing its existing gasoil-fuelled engine. This move alone will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by some 1,000 tonnes.

“This is the latest example of Inovyn driving the decarbonisation agenda as part of Ineos’s €2bn investment programme,” says Wouter Bleukx, hydrogen business manager at Inovyn. “Hydrogen-powered transport will play a critical role in Europe’s journey to net-zero and Inovyn is perfectly positioned to drive down emissions in the transport sector as we are already a producer of low-carbon hydrogen and have significant demand for transportation.”

VT Group will own and operate the barge on behalf of Inovyn. Niels Groenewold, CEO of VT Group, comments: “Our strong relationship with Inovyn has always enabled us to innovate. Being able to contribute to a net-zero operation is very valuable to us and is perfectly aligned with our company’s sustainability ambitions.” www.inovyn.com vtgroup.nl

STEALTH SPINS OFF PRODUCT TANKERS

StealthGas, which operates primarily in the LPG tanker sector, has decided to spin off its other tankers into a separate company, Imperial Petroleum, and has applied for its shares to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Imperial will take over three product tankers and one Aframax oil tanker. The transition is expected to be completed in December.

The StealthGas board of directors believes that the move will provide significant benefits to both companies and their shareholders. “The transaction is expected to enable both StealthGas and Imperial Petroleum to increase its business focus, alleviate market confusion and attract new investors, and, with this separation of sectors, give shareholders the flexibility to adjust their holdings according to the sectors in which they want to invest,” the company says in a statement. www.stealthgas.com

KIRBY KEEPS AN EYE ON THE WEATHER

Kirby Corp has reported third quarter consolidated revenues of $598.9m, up from $496.6m in the same period last year. However, adjusted net income fell from $27.5m to $10.3m, with a one-time impairment charge related to the firm’s exit from the Hawaii business and the restructuring of its coastal marine business pushing it to a net loss of $264.7m.

Early in the quarter, Kirby experienced improving demand in its inland operations, with barge utilisation reaching the mid-80s per cent; by August, though, the Covid-19 delta variant slowed the pace of economic recovery, reducing the demand for refined products, and the inland business was also badly hit by Hurricane Ida, which caused the closure of key waterways as well as refineries and chemical production facilities and disruption that lasted well into October. By the end of October, however, the market had improved considerably.

The coastal business showed modest increases in spot market demand and barge utilisation as a result of “modest demand improvements” for refined product and black oil transport services. Revenues from the coastal business in the third quarter were 13 per cent up on the prior year, although much of this represented bunker fuel surcharges.

“Overall, we expect our fourth quarter earnings to sequentially improve,” says CEO David Grzebinski. “In marine transportation, with some major refinery and chemical customers only recently resuming operations post-Hurricane Ida, and portions of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway still closed, some of the impacts from the storm have carried into the fourth quarter. Despite these headwinds, we have seen steady improvement in volumes and inland barge utilisation during October which we expect will contribute to improved marine transportation revenue and operating income in the fourth quarter.”

The fourth quarter is expected to be particularly good for the inland barge sector, with refineries and petrochemical plants in Louisiana restarting after Hurricane Ida and customers boosting production to meet pent-up demand. While ongoing navigational issues in the wake of Hurricane Ida which have resulted in extended closures of key waterways and contributed to some increases in barge utilisation should subside, Kirby expects that the onset of seasonal winter weather and continued economic growth should result in improved barge utilisation. www.kirbycorp.com