Bw Group News
Hanwha Ocean Joins GCMD on Ammonia and Carbon Capture
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and Hanwha Ocean have announced a five-year strategic partnership to advance low and zero carbon fuels, energy efficiency technologies and onboard carbon capture.The GCMD was established as a non-profit organization in 2021 founded by BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express and Seatrium. GCMD also receives funding from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), and bp…
BW LPG Buys 12 VLGCs from Avance Gas in $1.05 Billion Deal
BW LPG on Thursday announced it has agreed to acquire 12 very large gas carriers (VLGC) from Avance Gas in a cash and stock deal valued at more than $1 billion.The deal will see Avance Gas sell off the entirety of its VLGC fleet, including four 91,000-cubic-meter (cbm) vessels built in South Korea in 2022 and 2023 and eight 83,000-cbm vessels built in China in 2015, and grows BW LPG's owned and operated VLGC fleet from from 41 to 53.According to BW LPG, this fleet expansion comes…
Iranian Oil Link Could Complicate Insurance Claims After Tankers Collide off Singapore
A collision between two tankers off Singapore in July raises questions over insurance claims, as one of the vessels previously shipped Iranian oil, potentially complicating payments due to Western sanctions, ship-trackers and industry sources say.What happened?The Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile and the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged Ceres I collided and caught fire about 55 km (35 miles) northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca on July 19.No oil spill has been detected…
BIMCO Approves Revised SYNACOMEX Grain Carter
BIMCO’s Documentary Committee has approved a revised version of the Continent Grain Charter Party, SYNACOMEX, to reflect changes in the geopolitical landscape following events including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The revised charter party now includes BIMCO’s anti-corruption clause and updated versions of the war risks and sanctions clauses.The charter party is developed by joint copyright holders SYNACOMEX and Armateurs de France, the French Union for Grains and Seeds Trade and the French Shipowners’ Association.
Suez Canal Ship Traffic Unaffected After Tanker Collision
Normal traffic is expected to resume through the Suez Canal within hours, the head of the canal authority said on Wednesday, following the collision of two vessels."Slight contact" was made after LNG carrier BW Lesmes made a sudden stop due to a technical failure that coincided with a strong current that drove oil tanker Burri towards it, authority chairman Osama Rabie said.The canal authority responded by sending tugboats to move both ships, he said.Singapore-flagged BW Lesmes was successfully towed outside of the waterway…
NYK Joins Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) have announced the signing of a five-year Strategic Partnership agreement.The partnership boosts the center's efforts to conduct pilots and trials of low-carbon solutions for the global shipping industry.Japan is one of the top three shipowning countries in the world, and Japanese merchant vessels account for around 11% of world tonnage. Numbers from Clarksons Green Transition Team further indicate that Japan leads other nations in alternative-fuel-ready vessel orders…
Follow the Money: Norway is Fertile Grounds for Shipping Projects
With the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s financial muscle is beyond question. Howev-er, at a corporate level, the country’s capital markets offer a range of benefits to overseas companies seeking equity, debt … or both. Øivind Amundsen is CEO of Oslo Børs and, as you would expect, a strong advocate of the Norwegian capital as a place to raise money for marine-related projects. The diverse nature of the companies which are listed on the Børs, part of Europe’s largest stock exchange group…
SSY Hires Wang to Drive LNG Business in China
Shipbroker Simpson Spence Young (SSY) hired Justin Wang will join the global SSY LNG team as a ship broker, effective from April 2023.Based in Beijing, Wang will be the first active LNG shipbroker in the Chinese capital and will focus on further expanding SSY’s LNG presence in the region, backed up by the current team that is based in London, Singapore, and Stamford, with business development in Madrid & Mumbai. An LNG specialist with over 15 years of commercial maritime experience…
BW Offshore Says Fatal Incident in Indian Yard Not Related to Its FPSOs
Oslo-listed FPSO leasing company BW Offshore said Wednesday a fatal incident had occurred in the Priya Blue shipyard in India, but that it was not related to ongoing recycling of former BW Offshore FPSOs at the yard.BW Offshore said in February it had signed an agreement with Priya Blue Industries yard in India to recycle the Cidade de São Vicente FPSO in compliance with Hong Kong Convention. The convention, adopted in 2009, is aimed at ensuring that ships when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives…
BIMCO Launches Contract for Security Escort Vessels
Shipping association BIMCO said it has created a new standard contract for providing a balanced contractual framework for security escort vessels (SEV) that accompany merchant ships in high threat areas such as the Gulf of Guinea, which has recently seen a rise in piracy activity as the dry season has begun.The new contract is dubbed SEV-GUARDCON because it is based on BIMCO’s GUARDCON contract for the employment of security guards on board ships.“The escort vessel’s capabilities…
Shooting the Messenger? Shipping Carries the Can as Investors Shun Coal
Shipping companies that transport the world's coal are in the crosshairs of some financial backers who are cleaning up their businesses in the absence of a truly global drive by nations to renounce the dirtiest fossil fuel.In a sign of investors taking the initiative, six European firms collectively representing over 5% of the estimated annual $16 billion capital financing requirements of the dry bulk industry told Reuters they were either reducing their exposure to vessels that…
Marine Battery Firm Corvus Plans 4Q IPO
Marine battery maker Corvus plans an initial public offer (IPO) in the fourth quarter, aiming to list its shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange, its top executive said on Wednesday.The company, which assembles battery cells into giant batteries for ships such as ferries, cruise vessels, tug boats, [and offshore support vessels] expects the global market for such solutions to be worth $10 billion in 2030."We see that already ... the backlog is three times what it was a year ago," Chief Executive Geir Bjoerkeli told an energy conference."To take that growth…
Svitzer Nets 10-Year Deal for Towing Services at Offshore LNG Terminal in the Philippines
Maersk's Svitzer, a maritime towage provider, has recently signed a 10-year deal with FGEN LNG, a First Gen subsidiary, for towage and other vessel support services required by FGEN LNG’s Offshore LNG Terminal in the Philippines.The LNG Terminal project will feature a leased Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) that will be located at the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City in the Philippines.BW Group in April secured a 5-year contract with FGEN LNG for the charter of BW Paris…
Invenergy, BW LNG Secure Financing for FSRU Project in El Salvador
Sustainable energy developer Invenergy and LNG solutions provider BW LNG have secured a $128.3 million loan from IDB Invest to fund the construction of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a key part of the Energía del Pacífico (EDP) LNG-to-power project in El Salvador.The financial package has a 15-year contractual term granted to FSRU Ltda. de CV in El Salvador. Invernergy said the loan provided valuable resources for the purchase and conversion of the BW Tatiana LNG carrier to an FSRU.
Singapore Launches $90 Million Shipping Decarbonization Fund
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) announced two initiatives on Wednesday to reduce the shipping industry's greenhouse gas emissions, including a S$120 million ($90 million) fund for a decarbonization center."Maritime decarbonization is a global challenge requiring a collective responsibility from all stakeholders involved," MPA Chief Executive Quah Ley Hoon said in a statement.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, shipping accounts for nearly 3% of…
BW Group, Miros Enter JV Aimed at Fuel-Saving, Emission Reduction
BW Group and Miros are launching Miros Mocean, a joint venture to provide the shipping industry with a new standard in vessel performance optimization. Miros Mocean is aimed at filling the void identified by BW Group and Miros, aiming to provide "unprecedented data accuracy into the operating conditions of a vessel, a missing piece in vessel performance until now," per the press release announcing the JV.“Decarbonizing the shipping industry is the grand challenge of our time," said Remi Eriksen, DNV Group President and CEO.
Fuel, Propulsion, Emissions & the Decision to Scrap or Refit
When the maritime history books are written, 2020 will be viewed as a year of pivots, re-invention and new paradigms. By February 2020, concerns about marine fuel’s sulfur content quickly shifted to near-term disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-year, with demand recovering, the conversation turned to longer term questions surrounding the moves towards reduced maritime carbon emissions and alternative fuels. How will this all impact the current fleet?Perhaps the most extreme reaction to the shifting landscape is the ongoing “pivot” of Scorpio Bulk (NYSE: SALT)…
BW Group Buys 39.1% Stake in Navigator Holdings
Private equity firm WL Ross & Co. said it has agreed to sell its approximately 39.1% equity interest in ship owner-operator Navigator Holdings to maritime and offshore company BW Group at a price of $9 per share."Navigator Holdings has been an industry leader since we made the initial investment. We think the company's future is bright, and this long-term investment from BW Group will position the company to realize its potential," said Hal Malone, Head of Transportation of WL Ross.Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of BW Group, said "BW is excited to be taking an ownership position in Navigator Holdings, a leading company in its sector, and…
BW LPG Opts for Additional LPG Retrofits
BW LPG announced it will retrofit three additional vessels to make them dual fuel capable, brining to 15 the number of its ships slated to be equipped for running on both fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).The Oslo-listed shipowner, part of the BW Group, announced in 2018 that it would initially equip four very large gas carriers (VLGC) with the novel propulsion solution. Later, two four-vessel options were confirmed with this new three-vessel option making a total of…
World’s First LPG-Fueled VLGC Completes Transpacific Voyage, Loads Cargo in Houston
BW LPG's BW Gemini, the world’s first Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) to be retrofitted with LPG dual-fuel propulsion, completed loading at Enterprise Terminal in Houston Monday. BW LPG, part of BW Group, said Monday that the VLGC had completed its "historic" crossing of the Pacific Ocean on LPG propulsion on December 5."BW Gemini is carrying a record load of 49,000 metric tons of LPG on a single keel. As the vessel refueled while loading and no additional bunkering was needed, she has proceeded on her voyage.
World's First LPG-fueled Gas Carrier Completes Sea Trials
The world's first very large gas carrier (VLGC) to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel propulsion technology has completed sea trials, shipowner BW LPG announced Wednesday.BW Gemini and its newly retrofitted LPG propulsion technology were tested to their safe limits by an expert team from engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions, BW LPG’s Newbuilding & Projects and Technical departments, and classification society DNV-GL, who awarded the required classification certificate to following satisfactory performance.
World First: Retrofitted VLGC Runs on LPG
BW LPG said the week-long sea and gas trials have kicked off for very large gas carrier (VLGC) BW Gemini, which has been retrofitted with pioneering liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel propulsion technology. The shipowner said the 2015-built BW Gemini achieved "a historic milestone" as the world’s first VLGC to be fueled by LPG, after its main engine was retrofitted from a MAN B&W 6G60ME-C9.2 type to a MAN B&W 6G60ME- LGIP dual-fuel type capable of operating on both LPG and traditional fuel oil."The retrofitting process at Yiu Lian Dockyard in Shenzhen…
Ardmore Rejects Hafnia's Takeover Bid
Ireland-based tanker shipping company Ardmore Shipping Corporation confirmed Tuesday that it received and turned down an unsolicited acquisition proposal last month from larger competitor Hafnia Limited.BW Group's Hafnia said it sent a letter on June 19 to the chairman of Ardmore's board outlining its proposal and inviting discussion regarding an all-stock transaction.Ardmore, which owns and operates a fleet of medium range (MR) product and chemical tankers ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 deadweight tonnes, said that it reviewed the proposal and turned it down within two weeks."Ardmore's Board of Directors thoroughly reviewed the proposal…