Natural Gas Tankers News

Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot has transferred dozens of ships into a new Dubai based management company aiming to boost trade through this entity amid growing pressure from financial restrictions, according to maritime industry data and shipping industry sources.State-owned Sovcomflot (SCF) is subject to sanctions and other restrictions by the UK and the European Union, while Washington has restricted its financial activities. Sovcomflot - whose fleet in the region of 80 vessels including crude, oil products and liquefied natural gas tankers - has had to deal with these capital restrictions over the past year. It has also had to rebase its overseas operations from Cyprus to Dubai.Since July…

China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) has awarded 16 billion yuan ($2.42 billion) worth of contracts to build 12 liquefied natural gas tankers, the largest of their kind in the country, the company said on Thursday.China is the world's largest buyer of the super-chilled gas, while CNOOC is the country's largest importer of the fuel and among the state majors leading a drive to expand their LNG fleet to meet rising import needs and facilitate fast-growing global trade.

Egypt's Suez Canal recorded its highest monthly revenue to date in April, reaping $629 million in ship transit fees, the authority managing the waterway said, as traffic rebounded from the impact of the pandemic.The monthly revenue in April was 13.6% higher than a year ago, canal authority chairman Osama Rabie said in a statement.The total number of ships that passed through the 193 km (120 miles) waterway that links the Red and the Mediterranean seas increased by 6.3% from a year ago to 1,929 vessels.They carried cargoes weighing in total 114.5 million tonnes, the highest monthly net cumulati

Classification society DNV announced it has awarded approval in principle (AIP) to Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC) for its PCO2 tank system for the transportation of liquefied CO2 (LCO2).Many of the world’s decarbonization goals can only be met through use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. But to make a meaningful impact on the climate challenge, all of the CCS chain must be deployed and then scaled rapidly. Transport of CO2 is an essential part of this chain…

The latest in-line shaft generator from ABB is designed to enable ship operators to benefit from the multiple advantages of permanent magnet technology. The new generator brings flexibility and ease of installation to a wide range of vessels including bulk carriers, container carriers, liquid natural gas tankers and ferries transporting passengers and cars.The AMZ 1400 permanent magnet shaft generator is optimized for converter control and enables better efficiency than either induction or electrically excited synchronous machines at both full and partial loading.

South Korea's shipbuilders jump after an industry report notes rising prices of liquefied natural gas tankers that is set to benefit the country's shipbuilders.Shares of Hyundai Heavy Industries soar 9.2 pct, while those of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering jump 9.7 pct.Samsung Heavy Industries adds 5.7 pct, after it secured a contract worth 412 billion won ($368 million) to build two LNG carriers for a ship owner in North America.The stock price gains reflect the report issued by Clarkson, a UK shipbuilding industry analysis organisation, which raised the price of an LNG tanker to $181

China’s Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings reported a 73 percent increase in second-quarter net profit, helped by higher revenue from the construction of larger-size vessels,  Reuters reported. The company, which specialises in dry-bulk carriers,  posted a net profit of 719.92 million yuan (S$146 million) for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017. Revenue increased 27 per cent year on year to 3.79 billion yuan in Q2 due to higher contributions across its different businesses. The revenue derived from its shipbuilding business increased 25 per cent mainly due to higher volume of shipbuilding activities with construction of larger-sized vessels.

The traffic developments through the Suez Canal showed the change in each type of transient and cargo ships, which gives an indication of the future of traffic in the canal, according to analysis conducted by Daily News Egypt. According to data, the contradiction between the low number of vessels and higher payloads shows a tendency to rely on bigger ships to save costs. The Suez Canal will have to cope with this development and maintain an appropriate depth to meet the requirements of these larger vessels. The Suez Canal succeeded in raising the number and tonnage of ships gradually over the past three years, with 16,596 vessels registered in 2013 at a total of 915.467m tonnes. In 2014, 17,148 ships transited the canal with a total of 962.748m tonnes.

Power and automation group ABB informs it is working with MeteoGroup to equip 140 containerships from Maersk Line with advisory software to optimize routes, boost maritime safety and protect cargo based on factors including the hull design and the weather; helping the shipping line avoid conditions that could be harmful to the ship, its crew or its cargo. The deal will see ABB combine its Octopus motion-monitoring, forecasting and decision-support software, which improves vessel availability and safety, with MeteoGroup’s SPOS Seekeeping plug-in.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which administers the canal, is looking at building a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal near the Canal. The ACP has been awarded a US Trade and Development Agency grant to help fund a feasibility study for the project, which it is considering for when the expanded canal is opened next year and the waterway is expected to handle considerable liquefied natural gas tankers. A statement from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency says that it has awarded a grant to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to support the planning of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal. When the Panama Canal expansion project is completed next year, the Canal is expected to handle significant LNG tanker traffic.

With violent conflicts and fighting continue at most Yemeni ports, shipping lines are pulling away from the country that’s devolved into chaos in past weeks. A report in Reuters, quoting industry sources and ship tracking data, says that at least four oil and natural gas tankers that were headed to Yemen have been diverted as chaos mounts in the country after the launch of Saudi-led air strikes last month. Warships from the Saudi-led coalition have blocked a vessel carrying more than 47,000 tonnes of wheat from entering a Yemeni port, demanding United Nations guarantees that the cargo would not go to military personnel, shipping sources said on Thursday.

Aden Refinery temporarily suspends tender process to import; Gasoil shipment headed for Yemen diverted towards Singapore. SINGAPORE, April 9 (Reuters) - At least four oil and natural gas tankers that were headed to Yemen have been diverted as chaos mounts in the country after the launch of Saudi-led air strikes last month, according to industry sources and ship tracking data. Fighting in Yemen is scaring off shippers and has forced the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant to take one of its production plants, or trains, off line. Several companies, including France's Total and APR Energy Plc have either evacuated staff or ceased operations due to the conflict.

The former chairman of Chinese state-run shipyard Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has been charged with taking bribes, prosecutors said on Friday, the latest official to be swept up in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown. The Supreme People's Procuratorate said in a notice on its website that Gu Tiquan, former board chairman of the Shanghai-based shipyard, would be prosecuted. It did not give details. Hudong-Zhonghua is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp, one of the largest shipbuilding conglomerates in the country. The yard has been leading China's push into high-tech shipbuilding, and currently has contracts to build 14 liquefied natural gas tankers.

Shares rise 5 pct after improved guidance, better quarter than expected. Maersk indicates more buybacks after first in its history. Efficiency, cost savings boost Maersk Line compared to rivals. Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk announced the first share buy-back in its 110-year history on Tuesday as an overhaul of the sprawling shipping and oil empire leaves it with more cash than it can usefully invest. Maersk shares jumped 5 percent after the company reported better than expected quarterly earnings and raised its 2014 profit guidance, as cost cuts at its container shipping arm help it navigate weakness in the global economy. "The share buy-back program ...

Mooring of large vessels in the LNG, petrochemical and container sectors is an intricate and critical procedure. The process entails bringing together a moving object with a static object, and with the imminent advent of even larger vessels (liquefied natural gas tankers with a capacity of 200,000 cubic meters and container ships with a capacity of 22,000 TEU*), the forces involved are enormous. For tankers and bulk carriers, mooring frequently takes place alongside jetties at the end of finger piers…

According to a report from The Star, Firm’s investment grade will enable it to raise funds despite being impacted by downturn. Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the issuer and senior unsecured ratings of MISC, the world's single-largest owner-operator of liquefied natural gas tankers. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) also lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on MISC. MISC chairman Datuk George Ratilal, emphasised that it was more important to note that MISC was still an investment grade, which would still enable the company to raise funds in the future despite being impacted by the current downturn. Source: The Star

The primary focus of last year’s annual update, which appeared in the April 2010 issue, was U.S. efforts to tighten economic sanctions against Iran. The last several months have seen these efforts come to fruition, as well as imposition of new sanctions affecting Libya, North Korea, and Somalia. Our 2011 update concentrates on these key developments, but readers should be aware that these were not the only changes to sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) over the past year. As always, remaining abreast of all applicable embargoes and sanctions must be a priority for international businesses. U.S. Developments. On July 1, 2010, long sought amendments to the Iran Sanctions Act (“ISA”) became law.

According to a report from Bloomberg, liquefied-natural-gas tankers that can convert the liquid to gas onboard will be in increasing demand in the next 10 years as rising electricity production boosts consumption of the fuel, according to Teekay LNG. Teekay has identified 30 sites that in the next five years may require floating regasification tankers, including China, Brazil, Dubai, Kuwait, Bangladesh and some islands in Indonesia. (Source: Bloomberg)

A Chinese shipbuilding company has broken ground on what it says will be the world's biggest shipyard, a high-tech facility capable of producing cruise ships and natural gas tankers, sources inside China and wire services reported Monday. The yard, being built on an island at the mouth of the Yangtze river, will reportedly eature seven construction docks along a five-mile stretch of coastline, the Shanghai Daily reported. Due for completion in 2015, the yard will be designed to produce a total of 12 million dwt of ships per year. The new yard is being built by the China State Shipbuilding Corp., which incorporates 25 large- and medium-sized shipyards. The group currently produces tankers and container ships, as well as warships and submarines for China's navy, according to its Web site.

Bloomberg reported that Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and other shipbuilding companies may succeed in keeping vessel prices at record highs for a third year as they seek to shield earnings against dropping orders and higher steel costs. The top-three yards, Hyundai Heavy, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., all from South Korea, will book new orders around today's all-time highs, according to four out of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The companies will give their outlooks for 2007 as early as this week. South Korea's yards took almost half of this year's orders in the world's $100 billion ship industry, as transporters turned to them for the largest and most expensive vessels.

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) is investing $11.5b in its bid to become the largest owner of LNG/LPG tankers fleet by the end of the decade. The plan is to acquire 60 ships by 2010 to ferry liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas worldwide, Nakilat vice-chairman Faisal M Al-Suwaidi is quoted to have said in a report in the Gulf Times. While 46 tankers are meant for LNG transportation, the rest will be used for liquefied petroleum gas supply. As many as 25 LNG tankers will be of the Q-Flex category, while 21 liquefied natural gas tankers will be Q-Max. Q-Flex vessels have a cargo capacity ranging between 210,000cu m and 217,000cu m.

Korea's three major shipbuilders are expected to draw in orders worth $30b this year, Arirang News reported. Industry reports put orders for Hyundai Heavy Industries at $13b, Samsung Heavy Industries at $10-11b, and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering at $10b. Samsung Heavy Industries won the most number of orders as of March with four liquid natural gas tankers, one floating production storage, one offloading vessel, and nine oil tankers. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Hyundai Heavy Industries is also reportedly looking ahead to a stellar year and expected to secure their targets set for 2007 when foreign firms begin placing orders for various projects later on in the year. Source: Arirang News

Korea's three major shipbuilders are expected to draw in orders worth $30 billion this year, according to a report on http://english.chosun.com. Reports put orders for Hyundai Heavy Industries at $13 billion, Samsung Heavy Industries at $10-11 billion, and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering at $10 billion. Samsung Heavy Industries won the most number of orders as of March with four liquid natural gas tankers, one floating production storage, one offloading vessel, and nine oil tankers.