Chemical Tanker News

Marine battery manufacturer AYK Energy has signed a second contract with Spanish ship owner Mureloil, extending the use of battery-supported diesel-electric propulsion into the chemical tanker segment.The agreement follows the installation of a battery system on Mureloil’s 8,000-deadweight-tonne tanker Bahía Candela and will see AYK supply an identical 4.2 MWh Aries+ battery system for its sister vessel Bahía Beatriz, currently under construction at Astilleros de Murueta shipyard near Bilbao.Battery systems are widely used in ferries and workboats…

Anemoi Marine Technologies, the U.K.-based designer of Rotor Sails for wind-assisted ship propulsion, has signed a deal to install its Rotor Sails on two newbuild chemical tankers under construction for Union Maritime.The 18,500 DWT vessels, to be built by Wuhu Shipyard Co in China, will feature a combination of technologies and retrofit readiness to safeguard cost-effective decarbonization across their lifecycle.The Rotor Sails are set to be installed at Wuhu in early 2026 after…

Manufacturer Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) has signed a deal with global maritime transportation group Fratelli Cosulich to support its methanol-ready fleet expansion.APC has signed a contract with the Italian headquartered group to supply its industry-leading MarineLINE cargo tank coating to two new IMO Class II chemical tankers, to prepare them for methanol bunkering in Singapore.The MarineLINE cargo tank coating will ensure superior chemical resistance, faster tank turnaround and extended service life.The 7…

Officer Lee Tae Young, a first mate from the Republic of Korea, has been awarded the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, in recognition of his heroic actions that saved 12 fellow crew members from the Geum Seong No. 135 when it sunk in November 2024. He was honored during a special ceremony recognizing seafarers held in London on November 24, 2025, in the margins of the IMO Assembly taking place from November 24 to December 3, 2025. IMO Secretary-General Mr. Arsenio Dominguez applauded Mr.

Odfjell SE and Japan’s Nissen Kaiun Co., Ltd. have formed a new Bergen-based joint venture, Odfjell Hakata Maritime AS, marking a significant expansion of their long-standing partnership and adding substantial capacity to the global chemical tanker market.The JV will launch with a fleet of 10 stainless-steel chemical tankers, equally contributed by the two companies. Nine of the vessels are already operating under Odfjell Tankers via existing charter agreements, while the tenth is set to join the fleet in early December.

Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) has signed its first deal with Oman’s national shipping company.The contract will see APC’s MarineLINE coating system applied to two chemical tankers being constructed for Asyad Shipping Company.It is APC’s first deal with majority state-owned Asyad Shipping Company, which currently operates a fleet of more than 90 vessels, with a number of newbuilds in the pipeline.MarineLINE’s superior chemical resistance properties, ease and speed of cleaning…

Stolt-Nielsen Limited announced that Jens F. Grüner-Hegge, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has decided to retire from his executive position in the second half of 2026. Alex Ng, current Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy, has been appointed by the Board of Stolt-Nielsen Limited (the Board) as CFO Designate, and will take over the role of CFO as of August 1, 2026. Mr Grüner-Hegge will remain with the Company until November 30, 2026, to support the transition.The…

Armed assailants attacked a commercial tanker off the coast of Mogadishu on Monday, firing at the vessel after attempting to board the ship in the first suspected Somali piracy incident of its kind since 2024, maritime sources said.If confirmed, this would be the first Somali piracy attack against a merchant ship since May 2024, raising risks for critical energy and goods transported through the region, maritime sources said.The vessel was sailing some 332 nautical miles (615 km) off the Somali coast when four armed attackers approached in a skiff from the starboard side and opened fire…

NYK Stolt Tankers, a joint venture between NYK and Stolt Tankers, has signed a contract with Nantong Xiangyu Shipyard in China to build two parcel chemical tankers.Scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029, the vessels will join the chemical tanker pool operated by Stolt Tankers.This order brings the total number of chemical tankers under construction to eight, including the six vessels ordered from the same shipyard in 2024.Parcel tankers are multi-purpose chemical tankers that can carry various cargo…

New insights from DNV’s Maritime Forecast to 2050 indicate that the number of alternative-fuel-capable vessels in operation is set to almost double by 2028.By 2030, the alternative-fuelled fleet will be able to burn up to 50 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) of low-greenhouse gas (GHG) fuels annually, double the estimated volume needed to meet the IMO 2030 emissions target.Yet today, actual consumption of low-GHG fuels remains at just 1 Mtoe.The widening gap between capacity…

Yemen's Houthis said on Monday they launched a missile towards the Israeli-owned tanker Scarlet Ray near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Yanbu in a rare attack off the Saudi coast.The Liberia-flagged vessel's Singapore-based manager, Eastern Pacific Shipping, owned by Israeli magnate Idan Ofer, said the chemical tanker was undamaged and under the command of its captain."We are aware of security reports alleging that our managed vessel Scarlet Ray was the target of a suspected Houthi attack…

James Fisher and Sons, a global provider of marine solutions, has marked the start of construction of its chemical tankers fleet with the laying of the keel for the first vessel, Orca Fisher, at the China Merchants Industry Yangzhou Dingheng Shipyard (YZDH).Orca Fisher is the first of four next-generation vessels - known as the Sealife class - introduced as part of James Fisher’s Fleet of the Future, a long-term program to modernize its tankships fleet with more efficient, lower-carbon vessels that support the use of alternative fuel propulsion.The new vessels - which includes Orca Fisher…

At least two supertankers made U-turns near the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel.

At least two supertankers made U-turns near the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows.That has spurred forecasts of oil surging to $100 a barrel.

Bergen Tankers and Equinor have signed a long-term charter agreement for two oil/chemical tanker newbuilds with an electric propulsion system, which aim to set a new standard for low emissions at the Norwegian Coast.The Norway-based companies selected Berg Propulsion as the system integrator for these DNV ice-classed tankers. The newbuild 6,500 dwt stainless steel tankers will be built by Zhoushan Dashenzhou Shipbuilding in China.The vessels will include two electric drive controllable…

UK-based bunker operator John H. Whitaker (Tankers) Limited secured chemical certification from Lloyd’s Register (LR) on behalf of the Isle of Man Flag Administration for its tanker Whitchampion to load, carry and blend Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME B100) onboard under IBC Code and MARPOL Annex II regulations.The certification allows Whitchampion to perform onboard blending of biofuels with petroleum distillates and residual fuel oils. The operation is authorized within UK coastal…

As the shipping world prepares to descend on Oslo for Nor’ Shipping 2025, we take a look at the Norwegian fleet which is currently valued at USD 66.2 bn using VesselsValue data. The following charts highlight the Norwegian fleet breakdown by vessel type, top Norwegian companies, S&P transactions, and the breakdown of dual fuel orders by sector. Thanks to government-backed initiatives such as Enova, who offer financial support to facilitate the green transition, Norway is ahead of the game in sustainability when compared to the rest of the world.

Norwegian shipowners agree: the obsession with new fuels is eliding a valuable discussion of the potential of fuel efficiency. The Aurora-class has enabled Höegh Autoliners to reduce emissions by around 58% per car carried, “before we even use low carbon fuels,” CEO Andreas Enger said. “The debate between energy efficiency and the fuel transition, we consider to be irrelevant and pretty stupid,” he said. “It’s a no-brainer for a shipowner to do everything they can to reduce fuel consumption.“Fuel efficiency itself will yield substantial improvements…

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released the U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2024 noting a decrease in detention rate due to fire safety issues.The annual detention rate decreased from 1.22 to 0.94%.Fire Safety: For the fourth straight year fire safety deficiencies lead all deficiency categories. Oil accumulation in the engine room once again led the deficiency total, 18 deficiencies. However, this was a significant reduction from last year’s total of 31 deficiencies.

Odfjell’s chemical tanker Bow Olympus is currently crossing the Atlantic powered by a combination of wind-assisted propulsion and a certified sustainable 100% biofuel, marking the company’s first near carbon-neutral transatlantic voyage.Real-time data from the voyage confirms that the dual propulsion approach is both technically feasible and impactful, as the vessel’s GHG emissions on the current voyage meet the 2050 Fuel EU Maritime GHG intensity targets and IMO’s GFI Direct…

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) issued a detailed notice on April 17, 2025, regarding actions and proposed actions in response to China's alleged targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance. The measures, USTR argues, will “disincentivize the use of Chinese shipping and Chinese-built ships, thereby providing leverage on China to change its acts, policies, and practices, and send a critically needed demand signal for U.S.-built ships.” Below, we break down the key elements of the notice and their potential impacts.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a time line of the collision between the Portugal registered container ship Solong and the US registered oil/chemical tanker Stena Immaculate.The collision resulted in one fatality, 14 nautical miles north-east of Spurn Head at the entrance to the Humber Estuary, England, on March 10, 2025.On 27 February 2025, the Stena Immaculate departed Agioi Theodoroi, Greece, with a cargo of aviation fuel. The tanker was bound for Killingholme…

bound4blue and Odfjell have partnered to complete the first installation of a wind propulsion system for the chemical tanker specialist, with four of bound4blue’s eSAILs retrofitted on the 49’k dwt Bow OlympusThe 22-meter-tall suction sails will help the advanced vessel achieve significant fuel savings, unlocking commercial, environmental and regulatory advantage. A tailored two-step installation process was deployed to accommodate the vessel’s schedule, with the installation completed in just two days.Firstly…