Neste Shipping News

Neste Oil is planning to exit its shipping business. According to the plan, the company would sell all its own vessels and outsource the ship management functions currently covering them, with around 320 ship management personnel transferring to a new employer. Neste Shipping's chartering functions would be retained and integrated with Neste Oil's organization. Going forward, Neste Oil intends sourcing its marine transportation through contractual arrangements. "Neste Oil's shipping needs have changed in recent years," explains Neste Oil's President & CEO, Matti Lievonen.

Wärtsilä recently signed an agreement with Metso Corporation to co-operate in developing and delivering scrubber systems for marine applications. Under the terms of this agreement, Metso is to supply the scrubber unit, while Wärtsilä is responsible for world-wide sales and integration, including automation, water treatment, and ancillaries. Both Wärtsilä and Metso have experience in the use of scrubber technology for land-based installations. Wärtsilä and Metso have already worked together for a number of years in the development of scrubber technology. In 2005 the two companies, together with other companies within the Finnish maritime cluster, embarked on a program to develop a feasible marine scrubber. By autumn 2007, the project was ready for a test installation.

Veson Nautical, the US-based developer of proven software solutions for the commercial maritime community, announced that Neste Oil Corporation has purchased Veson Nautical’s Integrated Maritime Operations System (IMOS) Trading Module for Neste’s Shipping Division. Veson Nautical IMOS Trading provides a solution for monitoring and managing physical and Forward Freight Agreement (FFA) positions and risk. Currently, Neste’s Shipping Division utilizes Veson Nautical’s IMOS Chartering, Operations and Financials modules to manage all commercial shipping activities for its 30-vessel fleet. Ports of call include the Baltic, the North Sea and the North Atlantic Region; the company transports about 40 million tons of crude oil, oil products and chemicals annually.

STX Europe signed three lifecycle services contracts for modernizing a cruise vessel for Carnival Cruise Lines and two tankers for Neste Shipping. MS Sensation of CCL will get 98 additional passenger cabin balconies as well as new black and grey water piping during the retrofit. MT Palva and Stena Poseidon of Neste will get crew accommodation refurbishing. The work onboard the oil tankers will be done while the vessels are in operation. The cruise vessel retrofit will be performed at Grand Bahama Shipyard during January and February 2009. In addition to ship building STX Europe provides lifecycle services. the vessels we have built and also offer upgrading and maintenance service to other customers.

The Estonian Maritime Administration has awarded a contract to Aker Arctic Technology Inc, Helsinki, Finland, for designing a new multipurpose icebreaker. The value of the agreement is close to EUR 6 million, including the development of the conceptual design, the basic design, preparation of the tender documents needed for a public procurement for building the ship, and construction supervision. "Aker Yards has built more than 60 percent of the icebreakers in the world. This…

Attuned to the liner shipping industry's unerring drive for economies of scale, classification society Lloyd's Register (LR) has developed a conceptual design of container vessel incorporating a 12,500-TEU capacity. Although some 55-60 percent greater in slot capacity than the biggest cellular vessels ordered to date, the envisaged Ultra Large Container Ship (ULCS) would be able to transit the Suez Canal and access key ports. LR considers that there are no insurmountable technical challenges to vessels of 12,500 TEU, and believes that it is only a matter of time before such tonnage makes its appearance in deep sea trade. The next five to 10 years could see the uptake of the envisaged new breed of behemoths by the container shipping industry.

Telenor Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway, today announced that it has signed a three-year communication agreement with Neste Oil Corporation of Helsinki, Finland for maritime broadband services. Under the terms of the contract, Telenor will provide Sealink Ku-Band services onboard 11 tankers with all vessels scheduled to have Sealink service by August of this year. Sealink's Ku-Band service provides Neste Shipping with high-speed data communications coverage throughout Western Europe. Offering maritime broadband communications at speeds of up to 2 megabits per second, Telenor's Sealink service enables efficient and cost-effective 'at sea' communications for ship operations including Internet access, video conferencing, e-mails, faxes, and telephone calling.

Veson Nautical, the US-based developer of maritime software solutions and services, announced that Neste Oil Corporation is fully operational on Veson’s Integrated Maritime Operations System (IMOS) to manage its fleet of 30 tankers. Veson’s IMOS is designed to enable Neste’s Shipping Division to operate its large tanker fleet more efficiently and profitably, from the onset of the voyage to the financial tie-out. Neste Shipping transports about 40 million tons of crude oil, oil products and chemicals annually; tonnage consists not only of crude oil, product and chemical tankers but also of two barge / pusher combinations and three tugboats. The operations are concentrated mainly on the Baltic, the North Sea and the North Atlantic region.

The product tanker Palva was delivered today from Bordosplit Shipyard in Split. The Palva and sister vessel the Stena Poseidon, which was delivered from the same shipyard in January, this year, are jointly owned by Concordia Maritime and Neste Shipping on a 50-50 basis. Both vessels have been signed to 10-years charters with Neste Oil. The Palva was named at Brodosplit Shipyard in Split at the end of last year together with her sister the Stena Poseidon. Both vessels will operate in part in the Baltic Sea and have Finland as their starting point for voyages to North America. The Palva and the Stena Poseidon are so-called Panamax tankers, i.e. they are designed to be able to pass through the narrow passages in the Panama Canal’s locks.