Vopak expands storage in Rotterdam, Jakarta

IN BRIEF

USA: Heavy snow in parts of southern USA disrupted logistics in the key export hub of the US Gulf, AgriCensus reported on 17 February. Key waterways such as the New Orleans and Houston shipping channels – major arrival ports for agricultural imports of bulk commodities including edible oils – were also disrupted.

The extreme weather conditions sparked reports of forces majeures being declared in the region, AgriCensus wrote. A polar vortex had brought extreme low temperatures and heavy snow to large parts of Texas and along the New Orleans coast, hitting the primary US export hub.

In 2019, the Port of New Orleans in Louisiana was one of the top three palm oil ports of entry in the USA and Houston was listed as one of the top 10, according to the WorldCity research group.

USA: Greenfield Louisiana has filed permit applications to build a 36-silo grain terminal on the west bank of St John the Baptist Parish, World Grain reported on 8 March. The company expected to move more than 11M tonnes of agriculture products – mainly soyabeans, wheat and corn – through the 100ha export terminal.

Products would mainly be transported via barge on the Mississippi River or the inland waterway system to the grain elevator, where they would be unloaded, stored, cleaned and then loaded onto an ocean-going vessel, World Grain said.

If the project went ahead, the dock would be leased to Greenfield by the Port of South Louisiana, the USA’s largest grain port, which handled more than half of annual US grain exports.

Vopak expands storage in Rotterdam, Jakarta

Global tank storage company Royal Vopak announced on 17 February that it is investing in storage of waste-based feedstocks for the production of biofuels such as biodiesel and bio-jetfuel in the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The firm said the market for energy from renewable sources in Europe was rising, partly as a result of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive II.

“In total, 16 new tanks with a combined capacity of 64,000m3 will be built at Vopak Terminal Vlaardingen. The renewable feedstocks that can be stored in the new tanks are waste materials, such as used cooking oil and tallow.”

Voapk said the terminal already had extensive experience in storing these types of products.

Vopak also announced on 16 February that it was expanding biofuel storage at the PT Jakarta Tank Terminal (JTT) in Tanjung Priok, Indonesia.

Following the expansion, JTT – a joint venture between Vopak and PT AKR Corporindo (AKR) – would have a total tank capacity of more than 350,000m³. The expansion would add eight tanks to the facility with a total capacity of 100,000m³ for biodiesel, ethanol and gasoline, along with a vapour recovery unit and additional blending infrastructure.

AKR has tank storage terminals in more than 15 sea and river ports in Indonesia handling petroleum products and basic chemicals.

Vopak operates a global network of terminals handling products from oil, chemicals, gases and LNG to biofuels and vegetable oils.

New Cargill-Maersk bunker service

Global agribusiness giant Cargill announced on 23 February that it is partnering with tanker company Maersk Tankers to provide a new bunker procurement service.

Launching on 1 April, the partnership’s initial goal was to procure bunker fuel for Cargill and Maersk Tankers’ combined fleet, while aiming to attract additional customers in the near future, the company said.

The partnership would offer a joint annual bunker volume of 3.5M tonnes by combining Cargill’s fleet of around 700 vessels, which procure 2.5M tonnes/year of marine fuels, with the volume from Maersk Tankers’ fleet of more than 220 product tankers.

“As independent bunker consumers with no physical oil activity or bunker assets, there will be no conflicts of interest. We can therefore focus on providing transparency, robust benchmarking, and a modern and digital customer experience,” said Olivier Josse, head of tankers and marine fuel at Cargill Ocean Transportation.

Cargill and Maersk have had a series of collaborations including the creation of a joint tankers pool in 2019.

Photo: Maersk 2019 annual report The Cargill-Maersk Tankers partnership will initially focus on procuring bunker fuel for the two companies’ combined fleet

Marine sulphur emissions fall from new rule

The introduction of new sulphur limits in marine fuel led to a 70% drop in emissions from shipping, according to a statement by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on 28 January.

This drop in emissions was “testament to the preparations” all stakeholders had made prior to the rule coming into force, the IMO said. The IMO 2020 ruling reduced the amount of sulphur allowed in marine fuel oil from 3.5% to 0.5%.

In 2020, there were only 55 reported cases of 0.5% compliant fuel not being available, a “remarkably low percentage” given the more than 60,000 ships which plied the world’s oceans in trade last year, IMO head of air pollution and energy efficiency Roel Hoenders said.

The IMO said the majority of ships had switched from using heavy fuel oil (HFO) to very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO).

Some ships had also adopted exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS or ‘scrubbers’), allowing the continued use of HFO. Over 2,350 EGCS had also been reported to the IMO as an approved “equivalent method”, the organisation said.