Letter from the Editor

EDITOR’S LETTER

Eighteen months have passed since the novel Coronavirus, generally known as Covid-19, first made its way out of China and into the mature markets of Europe and North America. It brought with it untold stresses, forced us to think differently about how we work, and caused an immense amount of misery and grief.

Many of us took some time to wonder how different life might be once we came out the other side of the global pandemic and emerged into what became thought of as the ‘new normal’. Indeed, that was a fundamental question posed at last year’s EPCA Annual Meeting. And as we prepare for another virtual EPCA event next month – did we expect restrictions to last this long? – I am beginning to think we are already living in this new normal world.

Even before the virus arrived, there had been talk for some time – again, not least at the EPCA Annual Meeting – of the increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (often condensed to the rather ugly acronym VUCA) being displayed in global supply chains. Well, if we though we were suffering from a bad case of VUCA in 2019, we hadn’t seen anything yet.

I have spent a large part of this year talking to executives across the supply chain – that’s my job, after all – and I hear the same story from all quarters. Suppliers are unable to provide raw materials on time; prices are rising all round; ocean freight costs have skyrocketed, even as reliability has plummeted; inventories have been built up and then drawn down, only to reappear somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if you are a transport operator, shipper, receiver or a provider of equipment and services, the same stresses are apparent to everyone.

As the half year results have been rolling in over the past few weeks, many corporations active in the supply chain have done quite nicely out of this massive dose of VUCA. Many chemical distributors, several storage terminal operators and some shipping companies have reported significant increases in revenues and profit.

It has also been noticeable in some quarters that companies have decided that this is the time to grow: size confers some protection against volatility, as access to a larger pool of assets allows them to be deployed more flexibly. This seems to run counter to the assumption that agility is key at such times and that it is the smaller operators that are nimble enough to take advantage. The recent spate of moves to consolidate the chemical and LPG tanker sectors suggest that not all agree. The major chemical distributors, too, have been active in the M&A sector, expanding their reach into growing markets.

But to return to my earlier point: is this going to be the way of things for the foreseeable future? While vaccination programmes have taken the sharpest stings out of the pandemic, they have not cleared the way for a full return to the ‘old normal’. New variants have emerged and made their way around the world, forcing shutdowns at ports here and there that have continued to create VUCA in the supply chains. Until we find a way to eliminate the virus altogether, it seems to me that this is going to be ‘normal’ from now on.

CONTENTS

VOLUME 42 • NUMBER 08

UP FRONT Letter from the Editor 01

30 Years Ago Learning by Training 04 05

Face the change Survey shows the need for action 06 The road ahead Chemical Express imagines the future 08

STORAGE TERMINALS Best in breed Stolthaven recognised in Brazil Adapt and thrive Vopak faces energy transition 10

12

Eyes in the skies Oiltanking tests drones 14 News bulletin – storage terminals 16

TANKER SHIPPING Size is important Consolidation comes to chemships 18 All to play for Stolt Tankers joins zero carbon plan 21 Partners in green Proman expands methanol fleet 22 A close shave Odfjell tests hull cleaning idea Safety update OCIMF tweaks SIRE News bulletin – tanker shipping 23

24 26

TANKS & LOGISTICS Fit for the future Perolo enjoys surge in orders 28

See it through More acceptance for digital systems 30 Electric key VTG adds security system 32 Inflation situation STC considers market changes 34 News bulletin – tanks and logistics 36

CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION Growth markets IMCD expands in China, Latin America 38 Organic chemistry Brenntag’s strategy pays off 40 The right mix Univar sees demand return 42 Challenging times CBA counts cost of disruption 43 News bulletin – chemical distribution 44 COURSES & CONFERENCES Conference diary 46

SAFETY Incident Log 48

Heat treatment What went wrong with Stolt Groenland 50 Wrecks removed Salvors busy yet again 53

REGULATIONS Next steps Changes planned for RID/ADR/ADN 54 Meet the standards Texas codifies storage tank safety 60 Aussie rules Australia updates ADG 62

BACK PAGE Not otherwise specified 64

NEXT MONTH The Europe Issue EPCA Annual Meeting preview Shortsea shipping, warehousing, intermodal transport, storage terminals

Editor–in–Chief Peter Mackay, dgsa Email: peter.mackay@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 7769 685 085 Campaigns Director Craig Vye Email: craig.vye@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4014

Commercial Director Marc Freed Email: marc.freed@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 5136 Production Manager Alessandra Rossi Email: a.rossi@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4032 Managing Editor Stephen Mitchell Email: stephen.mitchell@hcblive.com Tel: +44 (0) 208 371 4045

Designer Richard Seymour

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