Suezmaxes News

VesselsValue has unveils this year’s top 10 shipowning nations, reviewing the total asset values for vessels by beneficial owner country. From Japan's resolute leadership in the top position with a USD 206.3 billion fleet to the emergence of Hong Kong at USD 44.7 billion, asset values and ownership strategies have changed considerably over the last 12 months, says Rebecca Galanopoulos-Jones, Senior Content Analyst, Veson Nautical.The data provided by VesselsValue and analysed by Veson is valid as of February 2024.

Singapore's Pavilion Energy and China's CNOOC Gas and Power Group completed their first liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship-to-ship bunker operation for a very large crude carrier (VLCC) at China's Guangzhou port, the companies said on Thursday.A total of 2,800 metric tons of LNG was delivered from CNOOC's LNG bunker vessel Hai Yang Shi You 301 to the VLCC Maran Dione, owned by Angelicoussis Group's Maran Tankers Management (MTM), the companies said in a joint statement.The bunker operation came after Pavilion Energy…

The market for old oil tankers is booming, and it's all down to efforts by Western nations to curb trade in Russian crude.As Western shipping and maritime services firms steer clear of Russian oil to avoid falling foul of sanctions or harming their reputations, new companies have leapt into the void, and they're snapping up old tankers that might normally be scrapped.The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February.

Oil tanker firm Euronav has ordered two Suezmax tankers from South Korea's Daehan Shipbuilding for an undisclosed fee.The vessels will be sister ships to Cedar (2022 -157,310 dwt) and Cypress (2022 – 157,310 dwt), built at the same yard. Both vessels are scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2024. "The vessels are the latest generation of eco-Suezmax tankers and are fitted with both Exhaust Gas Scrubber technology and Ballast Water Treatment systems. The vessels have the structural notation to be LNG Ready…

Tanker shipping company Nordic American Tankers (NAT) announced on Wednesday it has sold the 164,236 dwt Suezmax Nordic Mistral.New York-listed NAT did not reveal the buyer, but said the vessel is slated to be handed over to the new owner later this month. The 274-meter-long ship was built in 2002 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea.The sale is NAT's second in recent months. In October 2021, the company announced the sale of 2000-built Nordic Sirius, since renamed Ocean Peri.NAT, which in July 2021 revealed plans to sell the vessels as part of a fleet renewal program, said it sold the two ships for about $30 million combined.NAT now controls a fleet of 23 Suezmaxes, including two 156,800 dwt newbuilds scheduled to be delivered from South Korea in May and June this year.

Spot market earnings for VLCCs will average $2,500/day in 2022 on a non-eco, no scrubber basis (US $11,000/day for ECO-designs, without scrubbers), while the peak year for VLCC spot market earnings have been pushed out to 2025, amid substantial supply-side support. This was a key finding in McQuilling Services  25th Annual Tanker Market Outlook: 2022-2026 Tanker Market Outlook. While conditions are tight for the big ships, Suezmaxes and Aframaxes sectors are projected to return healthier levels in 2022…

VesselsValue's head cargo analyst, Olivia Watkins, has compiled a list of the world's top ship owning nations ranked by total fleet value.ChinaChina has moved up from second in January to firs place this time, owning a total of $191 billion in assets.China owns the largest number of containerships and, consequently, the recent surge in rates and values has moved them up the ranks to top spot in terms of fleet value. The increase in rates has also prompted an ordering spree across the container sector, as owners’ confidence in the market exploded.

Tanker shipping company Euronav on Tuesday announced it has signed onto a joint development program (JDP) to develop dual fuel ammonia (NH3)-fitted tankers.The company said it will work alongside the world's largest shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), and classification societies Lloyd’s Register and DNV in an effort to accelerate the development of NH3-powered very large crude carrier (VLCC) and Suezmax vessels. The initial term of the project will be three years.In addition…

A tanker carrying around one million barrels of oil products was involved in a collision near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, spilling oil into the Yellow Sea, China's Shandong Maritime Safety Administration and tanker representatives said on Tuesday.The collision involving anchored Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony and the Sea Justice took place at 0850 local time (0050 GMT), A Symphony's manager Goodwood Ship Management said in an e-mail."The force of the impact on the forward port side caused a breach in cargo tanks and ballast tanks…

Marlink said it has been selected by Turkish tanker operator Güngen Denizcilik ve Ticaret A/Ş (Gungen Maritime & Trading) to provide Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress service on four of its six vessels. The agreement was concluded through Marlink’s local partner Ozsay Satellite which worked with the company to provide a high quality package of enterprise and crew welfare services.Gungen will use the high throughput Ka-band service together with Marlink’s voice service provided via XChange for Fleet Xpress.

The recent slowdown in the oil tanker market is expected to be short-lived, shipowner Nordic American Tankers (NAT) said Friday in a letter to shareholders.NAT, which owns 25 suezmaxes including the two newbuilds on order from South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries for delivery in 2022, said it has been receiving many comments and questions regarding the current market situation."There has been a certain lull in the market recently, which we regard as a short term phenomenon," the company said. "NAT is in a positive phase of development."NAT, which is preparing to publish its results on November 16, said, "A company can go three ways: sideways, downwards or upwards.

Greek oil tanker operator Okeanis Eco Tankers has taken delivery of the Suezmax tanker “Nissos Sikinos” today.The tanker was delivered from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea and is the first of the two Suezmaxes that will be delivered to the company by the end of September. The second one is named Nissos Sifnos.Both scrubber-fitted, 158,000 dwt, tankers secured contracts in July 2020, with a three-year charter each. The Nissos Sikinos has already started its three-year charter contract…

The total orderbook for dry bulk, container and tanker ships has reached its lowest point in 17 years as COVID-19 has massively slowed contracting (-50%) while deliveries of new vessels have proved more resilient (-2%).The orderbooks for bulk carriers and containerships in particular have fallen sharply. At 63.4 million deadweight tons (DWT), the dry bulk orderbook is at its lowest level since April 2004 and 34.7% smaller than 12 months ago. Similarly, the orderbook for containerships…

Total number of Tanker orders are down by 26% for 2020 YTD compared to the same period in 2019. By comparing to 2018 YTD, this year there have been half the number of orders placed. This comes as no surprise as Europe and the US entered the lockdown phase of the pandemic earlier this year, only a month or so after the Chinese industry shut down. However, towards the end of May 2020 orders were placed for both VLCC’s and Suezmaxes by the Greeks, Norwegians and Angolans accounting for USD c.780 mil.The S&P market has also taken a hit so far this year with sales down 25% compared to 2019 YTD.

Leading tanker operator Euronav posted record high first-quarter results on Thursday and expects strong demand for oil storage at sea to continue in 2020, driving its shares up 8.5%.The world is still struggling with an oil glut due to a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus even after top oil producing countries have cut output. The glut has prompted a scramble to find storage options on land and sea.Hugo De Stoop, chief executive of Belgian group Euronav, said floating storage…

The oceangoing vessel operator Capital Ship Management Corp (CSMC) used SKF equipment to control maintenance costs and avoid breakdowns.SKF’s marine condition monitoring kit is helping a leading ship operator to manage costs and prevent equipment failure across its fleet, said a press release.CSMC has been investigating condition monitoring strategies since 2006, in order to reduce the maintenance costs and minimize the unexpected machinery & equipment breakdown.Together with SKF, Capital came up with an effective strategy by utilizing a new handheld device, launched recently by SKF; the SKF Quick Collect. The company has implemented the solution across a fleet of 30 vessels, with a plan to extend the program for the whole fleet of 56 vessels.

The Greek oceangoing vessel operator Capital Ship Management Corp. (CSMC) took successful delivery of the newbuilding vessel M/T ‘Aitolos’.The 115,000 dwt, eco-type crude oil tanker is built by Daehan Shipbuilding Co., Ltd, S.Korea, said a press note from the ship management services provider.M/T ‘Aitolos’ is the first of two sister ships to be delivered in 2020.Capital Group currently operates a fleet of 78 vessels including 48 tankers (10 VLCCs, 4 Suezmaxes, 7 Aframaxes, 26 MR/Handy product tankers and 1 small tanker), 5 modern bulk carriers, 18 container carriers and 7 LNG Carriers with a total dwt of 8.5 million tons approx.The fleet under management includes vessels of Nasdaq-listed Capital Product Partners L.P. and NYSE-listed Diamond S Shipping Inc.

Belgium-based crude oil tanker company Euronav has entered into a sale and leaseback agreement for three very large crude carriers (VLCC) vessels with Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing Ltd Co.The vessels were sold for a net en-bloc purchase price of USD 126 million. Under the agreement, Euronav will subsequently enter into a 54-month bareboat charter contract.The three VLCCs are the Nautica (2008 – 307,284), Nectar (2008 – 307,284) and Noble (2008 – 307,284), which were all built in the Dalian shipyard.The transaction produced a capital gain of about USD 23.0 million and will be booked as an operating lease under IFRS. After repayment of the existing debt, the transaction generated USD 66.6 million free cash. The vessels were delivered to their new owners on 30 December 2019.

Bermuda-based international tanker company Nordic American Tanker (NAT) said that it has  the strongest tanker market that it has seen in decades.In NAT fleet of 23 suezmaxes, 21 are in the short term market, providing immediate benefit for nat. The fourth quarter is building a strong momentum for 2020."We expect this to continue. Political frictions often lead to a stronger tanker market," said the company.About 70% of the spot trading days of our fleet for 4Q19 have been booked at an average TCE of $34,000/day. Spot rates are continuing its upward momentum.The Time Charter equivalent (TCE) for our ships for the third quarter came in at $15…

There has been a near absence of the demolition activity in tanker market this year, Gibson Shipbrokers said in its latest tanker market report. The scrapping likely to remain at low levels in the coming months, it added.During the first ten months of 2019, only 30 tankers over 25,000 dwt were reported sold for scrap. About half of all demolition activity has been in the Handy/MR size group, with 17 units removed since the beginning of the year.There were 3 Panamaxes/LR1s demolished and just 1 tanker in the LR2/Aframax size group. The count is marginally higher for larger crude carriers, with 5 Suezmaxes and 4 VLCCs sold for removals.Gibson said that this  is in stark contrast to developments last year, when over 150 units were scrapped.

Freight rates eased further on Friday, especially for the largest oil tankers, promising some recovery for West African oil prices which had touched multi-year lows. VLCC freight costs eased more rapidly than smaller Suezmaxes, making it less advantageous to ship on the latter. Prices for Suezmaxes were estimated around world scale 190-200, with one European buyer estimating further relief to around 150 by the end of next week.Nigeria's NNPC cut its November official selling price for Bonny Light crude to dated Brent plus 58 cents per barrel and for Qua Iboe to plus 63 cents per barrel…

Bermuda-headquartered Nordic American Tankers (NAT) said that its tanker segment is on upswing mode following he strong market improvement for its Suezmax tankers."However, seeing is believing and if anyone had doubts, last week, the international shipbroking firm of Clarkson Platou Research reported the largest week-on-week increase in the history of their freight index,"pointed out the company.From Thursday to Friday last week, reported Suezmax rates jumped 60% on the day and 400% on the month, it said.NAT’s uniform fleet of 23 Suezmax tankers have 21 units trading in the open spot market, ready to benefit from strengthening freights.Presently the Suezmax spot market is reported to about $68,000/day, and rising.

Frontline, the world's largest oil tanker shipping company, and Trafigura Maritime Logistics (TML) have agreed to extend an option for Frontline to acquire two Chinese-built suezmax tankers.The first option to acquire two Suezmax tankers expires on 12 September 2019. Frontline and TML have agreed to extend the expiry date for the first option to 18 September 2019. TML is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trafigura Pte Ltd, the multinational commodity trading company.The options are part of a deal reached between the two companies last month to acquire ten Suezmax tankers built in 2019 through the acquisition of a TML special purpose vehicle which holds the vessels.As part of the Acquisition…