Chemical Tankers News

ADNOC Logistics & Services signed contracts worth $4.4 billion to build 23 supertankers for ethane, ammonia and liquefied natural gas, the UAE's state news agency reported on Thursday.ADNOC's CEO Abdulkareem Al Masabi said the company through its AW Shipping joint venture awarded contracts worth $1.9 billion to build nine Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) and four Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs) with Jiangnan Shipyard in China.ADNOC L&S also signed contracts worth $2.5 billion with Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean to build up to 10 LNG carriers…

AW Shipping, a joint venture between ADNOC L&S and Wanhua Chemical Group, has awarded contracts worth $250 million to China’s Jiangnan Shipyard for two additional Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs).The VLACs each have a carrying capacity of 93,000 cubic meters of ammonia, making them among the largest ammonia carriers in the world.Scheduled to be delivered between 2027 and 2028, the vessels will be equipped with energy-efficient dual-fuel engines capable of operating on liquefied petroleum gas or conventional fuels.

Technology group Wärtsilä has secured an order from Jiangnan Shipyard to supply cargo handling and fuel gas supply systems for five new very large ethane carrier (VLEC) vessels.The ships are being built for Chinese owners. The order follows a similar order for cargo handling and fuel gas supply systems placed by the yard in 2023 for four VLECs.The new 99,000 m3 capacity VLECs are mainly designed to transport ethane, and will use ethane as fuel.As part of the cargo handling and fuel gas supply systems scope…

French engineering company GTT has received an order from its partner Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) for the tank design of six Ultra Large Ethane Carriers (ULEC), on behalf of ship-owner Eastern Pacific Shipping.GTT will design the tanks of these unique ULEC, which will each offer a capacity of 150,000 m3, the largest ever to be built for ethane transport.The tanks will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system developed by GTT. The delivery of the vessels is scheduled…

Niels Rasmussen, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, predicts a stronger 2024 than 2023 for crude and product tankers.This is despite weaker cargo volumes during the first half of the year.The BIMCO Tanker Shipping Market Overview & Outlook August 2024 states that muted fleet and supply growth in both markets during 2024 is a key enabler for the relatively significant strengthening of the supply/demand balance predicted.Longer sailing distances due to rerouting of many ships via the Cape of Good Hope help ensure strong tonne miles and demand growth in 2024 even if cargo volume growth is limited.

Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract from Danish operator Tärntank to design and equip its eleventh hybrid chemical tanker, which will featured wind-assisted propulsion system.The latest contract brings the total of vessels order by Tärntank to 11, with the latest five featuring wind-assist technology.The new 15,000 dwt vessels are equipped with a range of Kongsberg Maritime technologies aimed at energy conservation and emission reduction.These hybrid tankers can operate on diesel…

Trafigura Group has completed the acquisition of Gearbulk Holding 50% share in joint venture company High Heat Tankers (HHT) for an undisclosed sum.Aside from the acquisition, Trafigura has committed to a newbuild 17,500 dwt IMO II specialized high heat tanker to be delivered in the third quarter of 2026 from Chengxi Shipyard China to support the expansion of HHT’s services.HHT was established in 2018 between Gearbulk and Trafigura Group company Puma Energy Supply and Trading to provide access to the largest pool of modern IMO II high heat tankers in the world.Today…

NYK and ENEOS Ocean Corporation have agreed to NYK’s acquisition of 80% of the shares of a new company to be established by ENEOS Ocean Corporation. The new company will take over ENEOS Ocean's shipping business through an absorption-type company split that will include the company’s LPG carriers, chemical tankers, product tankers, and dry bulk carriers.The demerger will not include ENEOS Ocean’s crude oil tanker business.The new company will operate 49 vessels, including 18 LPG carriers, 19 chemical and product tankers, and 12 dry bulk carriers.

Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract to design and a equip a 10th hybrid chemical tanker for Danish operator Tärntank.The new Tärntank vessels will reduce carbon emissions using a combination of clean technologies.The wind-assist technology will be installed on the latest four vessels ordered, and this feature alone is expected to reduce emissions by up to 19%. The new vessels will have an Energy Efficiency Design Index close to 40% below the 2025 Phase 3 requirements.The 15…

Crude tanker demand is forecast to outpace supply in 2024 but grow slower than supply in 2025 as ships may return to the Suez Canal and sailing distances shorten, according to BIMCO’s May issue of its Tanker Shipping Market Overview & Outlook.Driven by increasing sailing distances, product tanker demand is also expected to grow faster than supply in 2024 but slower in 2025. A tightening supply/demand balance should result in increases in rates and prices in both markets in 2024…

Italian shipowner Fratelli Cosulich has inaugurated its new IMO2 chemical bunker tanker, Marta Cosulich, in the Bay of Singapore.Marta Cosulich vessel, with its 8.7000 m3, is the first ship in Fratelli Cosulich’s fleet ready to carry methanol.Fratelli Cosulich Bunkers Singapore started its physical supply business in 2005, which was a major milestone in the company’s global bunkering operations.Since, the company has expanded and modernized its local fleet, now comprising five bunker tankers…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has, through its subsidiary MOL Chemical Tankers, completed the acquisition of Fairfield Chemical Carriers, creating one of the world’s largest multi-segregated chemical tanker fleets.The acquisition, valued at $400 million, is based on a share transfer agreement signed at the end of September 2023, which has been approved by the relevant authorities under competition law.The transaction is in line with MOL’s plan to proactively invest in chemical tanker business…

NYK Stolt Tankers, a joint venture between NYK and Dutch company Stolt Tankers, has signed a contract with Nantong Xiangyu Shipyard in China to build six parcel chemical tankers.The contract will strengthen NYK’s chemical tanker business, for which demand is expected to grow steadily, and deepen the partnership with Stolt Tankers, a leading player in the industry, the company said.Parel tankers are multi-purpose chemical tankers can carry various cargo, including chemical products…

On January 17, the NYK Group and Stolt Tankers held a ceremony in Singapore to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the start of the companies’ parcel chemical tanker joint venture in Asia and the Pacific.A parcel tanker is a multipurpose chemical tanker capable of carrying many types of cargo, including chemical products, kinetic vegetable oil, etc.The ceremony was attended by Yuji Nishijima, executive officer of NYK; Bjarke Nissen, managing director of Stolt Tankers; and Masahito Hirano…

Hamburg-based ship finance platform oceanis’s Q4 State of Ship Finance Report comes with a thank-you to shipping companies that are committed to the green transition.Over the past decade, oceanis has seen large changes to the ship financing landscape towards greener projects. The most obvious green financiers are the Poseidon Principles banks, the initiative launched in 2019 whose signatories manage 70% of the world’s shipping loans. At the same time, many other banks and funds are moving away from financing ‘brown’ assets and trades.

The NYK Group, Stolt Tankers, and ENEOS Ocean launched a chemical ship pool business in the Asia-Pacific region in October.Shipowners and operators pool their vessels and undertake transportation services at the request of shippers. The pool business allows more flexible transportation services that utilize economies of scale, NYK said.The project started with 13 vessels, comprising two chemical tankers owned by ENEOS Ocean and 11 chemical tankers owned by a joint venture between…

A Liberian-flagged oil products tanker hit a mine on Sunday in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania and sustained minor damage, but the crew was safe, sources said on Monday.It is the second vessel this month to have been hit by a floating mine in the Black Sea, in a reminder of the continued perils faced by commercial ships in the region.The Ali Najafov tanker was sailing near to the Sulina channel near Romania when the blast occurred on Sunday, Yoruk Isik, head of the Bosphorus Observer consultancy, told Reuters.A Ukrainian source separately confirmed the vessel had struck a mine.The vessel's Istanbul-based manager Palmali, listed in shipping databases, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alma Clean Power, Odfjell, and DNV have this week announced a new milestone in the development of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system.The fuel cell system will be installed on a chemical tanker by the end of 2024, aiming to demonstrate the potential for significantly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for deep-sea shipping, the trio said at an event in Singapore."As the maritime industry faces major challenges adjusting to zero emissions over the next decades, fuel cells demonstrate a promising potential for scalable use for longer distances and larger energy needs in shipping.

Wärtsilä has delivered propulsion efficiency devices to two tankers owned by Vitol.The vessels, Elandra Sea and Elandra Star, managed by Latvian operator LSC Group, had tailored Wärtsilä EnergoFlow and EnergoProFin systems installed during summer 2022.EnergoFlow is a pre-swirl stator that creates an optimal inflow for the propeller, reducing fuel consumption and emissions in all operating conditions. The EnergoProFin is an energy saving propeller cap with fins that rotate together with the propeller.

The Swedish port of Gävle recently became one of the first in the world to successfully connect a tanker vessel to a shoreside electricity system. The shore power connection solution was provided by Cavotec.The system, based on new standards drawn up in co-operation with other ports and operators, is set to pave the way for other tanker berth operators to reduce emissions, says Cavotec.The test sequence, during which no electrical current was supplied to the vessel, was conducted earlier this year with the Tern Fors…

Danish family-owned company Uni-Tankers has achieved record financial results for the financial year 2022-23 which it attributes to being a “streamlined organisation ready to seize each opportunity.”Earning after tax were USD 61.0 million, an increase of USD 66.1 million from last year’s result despite constrained availability, higher cost of charter tonnage and higher interest rates.Uni-Tankers' fleet is one of the youngest in its core markets, comprising approximately 40 owned and chartered modern and flexible product and chemical tankers.

German company HGK Shipping on Thursday held a naming ceremony for two chemical tankers “Courage” and “Curiosity” on 4 May 2023.The chemical tankers have already been in service for the materials manufacturer, Covestro, on the river Rhine and its tributaries for several weeks. The hulls of the shallow-water vessels are 93 metres long and 10.5 meters wide. The two sister vessels are able to carry a load weighing 160 tonnes in a draught of just 1.00 meter and still be fully operational and maneuverable…

Denmark-based marine pump maker Svanehøj said Wednesday it had secured an order to deliver electric cargo pumps for seven LNG-/LBG-fueled chemical & product tankers. The client is the joint venture-company FureBear.Swedish Furetank AB and Canadian Algoma Central Corporation have entered into a joint venture agreement to construct eight LNG/LBG-fueled ice class 1A chemical & product tankers (17,999 DTW) to trade in Northern Europe.The joint-venture company, FureBear, is now placing a significant order with the pump specialist Svanehøj…