News bulletin – tanker shipping

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKER SHIPPING

MORE TANKERS FOR THUN

Thun Tankers has named its new 18,000-dwt dual-fuel product/chemical tanker Thun Venern, one of six sister ships ordered by Thun and its partners in the Gothia Tanker Alliance. The vessel, designed by FKAB in cooperation with Furetank Rederi, can be powered by LNG and is ice class 1A. Steel-cutting for the seventh vessel in the series, due for delivery in November 2020, has started at AVIC Dingheng.

Earlier this year, Thun Tankers took delivery of its second ‘L-class’ chemical tanker, Thun London, also built by AVIC Dingheng. These 18,650-dwt, IMO II tankers are also trading in the Gothia Tanker Alliance.

Thun Tankers has also placed an order for a ‘not always afloat but safely aground’ (NAABSA) product tanker. The 4,250-dwt unit, to be built by Ferus Smit and delivered in October 2020, will be used to call at tidalrestricted ports under a long-term agreement with the UK-based Geos Group.

“The NAABSA vessel being built by Thun Tankers for our own requirements will help strengthen our NWE physical market position,” says Barry Newton, Geos Group’s managing director. “The new vessel will allow us to focus on enhancing our position as the most reliable bunker supplier in our market by bringing in additional ship-to-ship capability as well as the option of supplying more niche ports. This is an exciting opportunity for us and our clients alike and can only strengthen our partnership with Thun Tankers and take us into a period of strong partnership and growth together.” thuntankers.com

MOL INTEGRATING NORDIC

MOL Chemical Tankers has begun the full integration of MOL Nordic Tankers, acquired in January, and expects the process to be completed during 2020. “We see this full integration as a natural step towards further developing our business to the benefit of our customers,” says MOLCT.

Per Sylvester Jensen, CEO of Nordic Tankers, and its CFO Henriette Schütze, have now departed, with Tsuneo Watanabe, CEO of MOLCT, taking on the same role at MOLNT. Annette Hasenberg has taken on the role of executive vice-president, supported by three senior vice-presidents: Howard Powers, Anders Hannested and Niels Mathiesen. Nordic Tankers’ offices in Copenhagen, Stamford, Houston and Bogotá will be kept running and, once fully integrated, MOLNT will be headquartered in Singapore.

“The MOLNT business and trade lanes are of high value and a very important part of our core business and ambitious plans to grow MOLCT into being one of the most attractive and leading chemical tanker companies worldwide,” says Watanabe. www.nordictankers.com

MARINVEST ON METHANOL

Marinvest has taken delivery of its two latest newbuildings, Mari Couva and Mari Kokako, from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The 49,000dwt IMO II tankers, designed for the transport of methanol, chemicals and products, are equipped with MAN B&W’s ME-LGIM dual-fuel engines capable of running on methanol. The new tankers have joined seven existing methanol-fuelled tankers Marinvest has under charter to Waterfront Shipping.

Marinvest says there are many advantages to using methanol as a marine fuel. It is one of the most widely traded chemicals and is available at major ports around the world. It is safe, bio-degradable and burns clean, meeting the most stringent environmental regulations. “In addition to IMO 2020-compliant SOx emissions and the ability to meet Tier III NOx regulations without exhaust after treatment, methanol can also provide a pathway to meeting future carbon emission reduction targets when it is produced from renewable sources,” the company says. www.marinvest.se

ABS GIVES JUMBO THE NOD

ABS has granted Approval in Principle (AIP) for a 165,000-m3 ‘Jumbo’ ethane/ethylene

carrier design. The concept, developed by Daewoo SME, uses IMO Type B cargo tanks constructed of high-manganese austenitic steel, which Daewoo says is more cost-competitive than nickel-alloy steel and provides increased reliability and a more robust containment.

“We are proud to support development of this concept, which is the latest in a long line of innovations in gas carrier design that ABS has helped to bring to the market,” says Patrick Janssens, ABS vice-president for Global Gas Solutions. “ABS is committed to facilitating innovations in vessel design which advance safety and drive efficiencies for the industry.”

ABS has reviewed the safety, suitability and feasibility of the Type B cargo tank design based on information supplied by DSME to confirm the system would comply with current ABS Rules. ABS and DSME have previously collaborated on Joint Development Projects assessing the viability of high-manganese steel for cryogenic applications. ww2.eagle.org

STEALTHGAS SLIPS

StealthGas has reported first-half adjusted net income of $2.33m, up from the $1.60m posted a year ago, which was impacted by a significant impairment loss. Adjusted EBITDA dropped from $33.6m to $32.1m, reflecting the disposal of a number of older vessels over the period.

Stealthgas’s pressurised LPG tankers operating in Asia experienced what chairman Michael Jolliffe describes as “relatively tough” conditions due to the US-China trade war. “Charterers in the region were reluctant to conclude or renew period contracts, thus forcing vessels to operate in the spot market at low rates,” despite high utilisation, he notes.

Over the second quarter, StealthGas has moved into new market segments, acquiring an 11,000-m3 pressurised LPG tanker currently under construction for 2021 delivery and, through a joint venture, a 38,000-m3 fully refrigerated vessel. www.stealthgas.com

SCRUBBERS FOR SOLVANG

Solvang has taken delivery of Clipper Eris, last of four 21,000-m3 ethylene carriers built by Hyundai Mipo. Solvang says these ships are the first fuel oil-fuelled ethylene carriers to be Tier III compliant, being equipped with hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems.

Up to now, exhaust gas cleaning has only been cost-efficient in special emission control areas (SECAs) but, Solvang says, the introduction of the ‘IMO 2020’ rules on sulphur emissions on 1 January 2020 will mean that all vessels will need to either be equipped with exhaust gas scrubbers or run on marine gasoil or other low-sulphur distillates. Solvang believes that on a ‘well to wake’ basis, scrubbed heavy fuel oil gives some 10 to 15 per cent lower CO2 emissions than marine gasoil operation.

The new vessels are optimised for both short- and long-haul trade, with a fuel capacity together with exhaust gas cleaning to allow them to sail for more than 50 days without bunkering. “Compared to our previous vessels, this is about 50 per cent increase in cruising range,” Solvang says. They are also fitted with a ‘high-lift’ rudder combined with an integrated ‘swirl generator’ that increases propulsion efficiency. This rudder design also provides maximum manoeuvrability at low speeds. Solvang has installed cargo plant based on its decades of experience in the ethylene trades, which shorten cool-down times by up to 20 per cent compared to earlier versions.

Solvang is due to take delivery of the last of its current newbuilds, a Panamax VLGC, this month, which will take its fleet up to 27 ships. solvangship.no