OIL TRANSPORT

MOL to Scrap 5 Double Hull Tankers

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. has decided to scrap five double-hull tankers (four VLCCs, one Suezmax) by the end of March 2012. Scrapping of two vessels is already completed, and preparations are under way to start dismantling the other three. All five tankers were crude carriers launched before 1998. MOL, as one of the world’s leading crude oil transport operators, is moving ahead to rejuvenate its fleet, upgrade the quality of its services, and solidify its position in the market, where it expects mid- and long-term growth. Meanwhile, the vessels will be scrapped at yards that conform to the “Guidelines to sell vessels for scrapping from an environmental viewpoint” stipulated by MOL.

Canada Fines Vessel Owner for Dumping Oil

Transport Minister David Collenette today announced that the federal government has successfully prosecuted the M/V Cala Palamos, a Cypriot-registered container vessel, owned by Nordpartner of Limassol, Cyprus and operated by Oldendorff K.E., based in Limassol, Cyprus, for the Canada Shipping Act (CSA) violation of unlawfully discharging an oily substance into Canadian waters. The pollution incident occurred while the vessel was berthed at Pier 36, in the Port of Halifax, on February 21

Lockheed Martin Wins $25M Crewboat Contract

Lockheed Martin won a contract valued at more than $25 million to perform detailed design, construction, test and delivery of two Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) crew transport vessels that will provide service to Mexico’s national oil company, PEMEX. The Lockheed Martin design is based on its SLICE Small Waterplane Area hull form. The contract, awarded to Lockheed Martin by Hoteleria y Servicios Petroleros, S. A. de C.V

Van Dyck Takes the Helm at Intertanko

The Council of Intertanko elected Mr Stephen Van Dyck, Chairman of Maritrans Inc., as its new chairman, as nominated by the Executive Committee. Van Dyck said "It is an honor for me to be entrusted with the Intertanko chairmanship. While the buoyancy of the current freight market raises our spirits, there remains much work to be done in the next few years. My initial focus will be on sharpening our processes for guiding Intertanko; implementing a review of our mission and strategy; and

IMO Appeal to UN Security Council

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos has issued a call at the highest level for a coordinated and cohesive response, both internationally and nationally, to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. In a Nov. 20 briefing to the UN Security Council, Secretary-General Mitropoulos told Security Council members about the scope and extent of the problem which, he said, was a matter of grave concern. He also outlined a series of actions the Security Council might consider taking to

Jeppesen Cover ENC Major APAC Shipping Routes

Jeppesen agrees with Indonesian Navy Hydrographic Office to distribute Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC) for Indonesia including Straits of Malacca. With the completion of this agreement, Jeppesen says it will provide the worldwide commercial shipping industry with comprehensive ENC coverage for Indonesian waters — waters encompassing major Asian Pacific (APAC) trade routes critical to the flow of international commerce.

Stena Bulk Strikes Deal with Neste Oil

Stena Bulk has sold 50 percent of the tanker Stena Arctica to the Finnish oil company Neste Oil, which will also operate the vessel on a 10-year charter from 1 January, 2007 – mainly to transport oil from Primorsk to the Finnish port Porvoo in the Baltic. The 117,100 DWT Stena Arctica was delivered at the end of 2005 from the shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and is the world’s largest tanker with the highest ice class (1A Super) currently in service.

Primorsk to Build Gas Carrier

The Primorsk Shipping Corporation (PRISCO), as part of the MOL/K Line/PRISCO consortium, has started building a carrier vessel to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) to participate in the Sakhalin-2 project, the Corporation says. The construction was begun in December 2006. Under the schedule, the gas carrier is to start operating in April 2008. The vessel is being built at a dockyard of Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding in Chiba (Japan).

Vopak To Sell Dry Goods Line

Vopak NV plans to sell its dry goods line agent business to unlisted Dutch freight transport and logistics company Royal Burger Groep. No financial details of the transaction were released. "The line agent usually transports dry goods, and Vopak is more an oil and chemicals shipper," a Vopak spokeswoman said. The planned sale includes the line agent activities in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland, Vopak said

Conoco, Maritrans To Develop Gulf of Mexico Shuttle Tanker Technology

Conoco Inc. and Maritrans Inc. are jointly developing advanced shuttle tanker technologies to safely transport newly discovered deepwater Gulf of Mexico crude oil reserves to U.S. refineries more economically than current pipeline alternatives. Technologies being evaluated have the potential to greatly reduce the time between discovery and production of deepwater crude reserves. "The industry is actively exploring for the 10 billion barrels of crude oil reserves that are estimated to be