Tank Storage News

Technical inquiries to SRC Group ramped up after it received Approval in Principle (AIP) for a concept which ‘reinvented methanol fuel storage’ on board ships. Delivering the answers has seen technical talk converting into project discussions        ‘Green’ methanol has the ability to one day run vessels almost emission-free, and commercial shipping increasingly investigates. Derived today principally from natural gas, methanol is nonetheless available, relatively easy to handle and predictable.

Dutch tank storage company Vopak has signed an initial agreement with Japan's IHI Corporation to explore the development and operation of ammonia terminals, as they expect demand for the low-carbon fuel to grow amid energy transition.The companies will lean on their experience in building ammonia storage tanks and terminals to focus on developing large-scale ammonia storage terminals that will allow for economical distribution of the fuel, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.They…

Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) and the inland navigation sector with the support of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) have collaborated with other European organizations to produce the second edition of the International Safety Guide for Inland Navigation Tank-barges and Terminals (ISGINTT).The purpose of ISGINTT is to improve the safe transport of dangerous goods at the interface between inland tank barges and other vessels or shore facilities (terminals).

The insolvency of a major storage terminal planned in northwest Europe has supported regional tank storage rates for diesel and gasoline, just as European traders rush to fill up diesel tanks ahead of a Feb. 5 ban on Russian fuel.Earlier this month, the district court in Rotterdam declared the insolvency of the long-delayed HES Hartel Tank Terminal, to be developed in Europe's major trading port of Rotterdam.The terminal would have offered 1.3 million cubic metres of storage capacity for gasoline…

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels completed the first refuelling of a COSCO Shipping Lines containership with marine biofuel, marking TotalEnergies’ first biofuel bunkering operation for a containership in Singapore.On July 11, 2022, the 4,250 TEU COSCO Houston container vessel was bunkered with TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel in Singapore waters, via ship-to-ship transfer. VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) blended with 20% second-generation, waste-based and ISCC-certified UCOME (Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester)…

Vopak, a Dutch natural gas infrastructure and transportation company operating in the Netherlands and Germany, has teamed up with the tank storage firm Gasunie to jointly develop future terminal infrastructure projects for hydrogen import into Northwest Europe via Dutch and German ports. The two companies have collaborated in the Gate LNG terminal in the Port of Rotterdam that came into operation in 2011."Alongside domestic production of hydrogen, large-scale import of green hydrogen will become essential for reaching the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 targets.

PPG has lunched a new phenolic epoxy tank lining, PPG Phenguard 985, geared for the marine and tank storage sectors. The tank lining is designed to deliver high chemical resistance to a wide range of aggressive chemicals and higher temperature resistance for chemicals that contain fatty acids.“The latest addition to our PPG Phenguard range, PPG Phenguard 985 tank lining features a patent-pending formulation that can be applied in two or three coats instead of the traditional three coats without compromising chemical resistance…

On July 16, 2021, Thunderbird 2 (TB2) was christened in Rotterdam by Mirelle Pennings, Director of Commercial Banking at Rabobank. The TB2 is the second working vessel of Fleet Cleaner, a green scale-up from Delft that uses self-developed robots to clean ships hulls. It is the world's first ship, too, according to Fleet Cleaner, that can clean tankers explosion-safe during loading and unloading.After seven months of construction, Friday was finally the day: the second Fleet Cleaner working vessel was christened.

Oil traders are struggling to find enough ships, railcars, caverns and pipelines to store fuel as more conventional storage facilities fill up amid abundant supply and plummeting demand due to the coronavirus crisis.Dozens of oil tanker vessels have been booked in recent days to store at least 30 million barrels of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel at sea, acting as floating storage, as on-land tanks are full or already booked, according to traders and shipping data.That adds to about 130 million barrels of crude already in floating storage…

The Netherlands-based tank storage company Royal Vopak has completed the divestment of its terminals in Amsterdam and Hamburg to First State Investments. The divestment was announced on 5 April 2019.The total agreed transaction value of the terminals in Amsterdam and Hamburg is around EUR 600 million, including a contingent consideration of EUR 15 million which is subject to certain revenue conditions.At completion, the transaction generates a cash inflow for Vopak of approximately EUR 555 million. The total exceptional gain after taxation will be around EUR 190 million, to be recorded in the third quarter of 2019.For the divestment of the terminal in Algeciras…

The Port of Rotterdam on Wednesday said it expects sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a bunker fuel to increase in the coming years as ships are forced to switch to cleaner sources of energy.Europe's largest sea port expects throughput of LNG as a bunker fuel to increase to around 30,000 tonnes this year, up from 9,500 tonnes in 2018, director Maud Eijgendaal told reporters."If we keep up this growth we can reach a million tonnes by 2025-2030, which would be around 10% of all bunker fuels sold in Rotterdam"…

North American energy infrastructure company energy infrastructure company AltaGas celebrated the grand opening of its Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal (RIPET), located in Prince Rupert, British Columbia – the first marine export facility for propane in Canada.The facility began introducing propane feedstock in mid-April, and the first shipment departed the terminal on May 23, 2019 bound for Asia."The completion of this game-changing project and the shipment of our first cargo are historic milestones for AltaGas, as well as for our project partners, customers, local Indigenous Peoples, surrounding communities, and western Canada's upstream energy sector…

North American transportation and logistics player TFI International has announced the acquisition of Toronto Tank Lines (TTIL).Acquisition strengthens TFI’s logistics and specialized tank capabilities throughout North America, said a press note.Founded in 1993 and based in Hamilton, Ontario, TTL specializes in the transportation and storage of food grade liquids, industrial chemicals, specialty oils and waxes throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico.TTL operates storage facilities and a fleet of approximately 75 tank trailers and 45 power units, with tank storage operations including 15 insulated and heated tanks, each with a capacity of one million litres and each capable of receiving / delivering cargo from / to marine vessels, railcars and tank trucks.

The Dutch tank storage company Royal Vopak,  Groningen Seaports and Whitehelm Capital announce their intention to jointly invest in a 27 MW solar park. The solar photovoltaic field will be one of the largest currently in the Netherlands.The new solar park will be situated on 19 ha of land adjacent to Vopak Terminal Eemshaven, land which is currently already leased by the terminal. The produced green electricity will be made available for local use in Groningen and Vopak terminals.Based on the available energy infrastructure, Groningen and especially Eemshaven are considered strategic locations for production and storage of renewable energy in the Netherlands.

European Union (EU) leaders approved the agreement on the UK’s withdrawal and future relations with the EU.Tank Storage Association (TSA) recognises that the agreement still needs to go through the UK Parliamentary process before it is approved, but cautiously welcome this positive progress. Tha association said that it is essential for TSA members to ensure access to as frictionless a border with the EU and the Rest of World (RoW) as possible following the 29th of March 2019. "We do not believe this is possible without a deal in place," it said.If the UK Parliament approves the deal on the 12th December, there will be a significant amount of work required during the transition period to finalise the details of our trading relationship.

Maersk Oil Trading has leased oil storage space in Singapore, signalling a push by one of the world's biggest ship fuel buyers into the Asian bunkering hub ahead of changes to global fuel standards from 2020, trade sources said.Maersk Oil has taken storage at the Tankstore oil terminal in Singapore, a spokesman for parent A.P. Moller-Maersk told Reuters, without giving further details.The firm has leased 120,000 cubic meters of space for fuel oil for six months, said three trade sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The Austrian petrochemical company Borealis has announced that it is to build a new production plant on its existing site in Kallo, in the Antwerp port area.According to a press release, the propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant will use the very latest technology in terms of sustainable production and energy efficiency. With this initiative the port of Antwerp confirms and reinforces its role as the largest chemical cluster in Europe.The intention to build a new PDH plant to convert propane into propylene has been known for some time. The propylene in turn can be used to make polypropylene, a plastic with many applications which is employed in among others the car industry.Borealis has now decided to build this new plant at the existing Borealis production site in Kallo.

Odfjell Terminals entered into an agreement with Koole Terminals B.V. of the Netherlands (Koole) to sell its 100% ownership of Odfjell Terminals Rotterdam (OTR).The sale will generate USD 100 million of cash proceeds to Odfjell. Odfjell announced that the transaction has closed.According to  Koole Terminals, Odfjell Terminals will be rebranded to Koole Tankstorage Botlek (KTB). Located in the heart of the Port of Rotterdam, KTB stores both chemical and mineral oil products and operates a PID facility.John Kraakman, CEO Koole Terminals: “We are pleased to extend our terminal network and will work hard to transform KTB further into a state of the art terminal, where safety is our priority number one.

The Japanese group MOL Chemical Tankers is coming to the port of Antwerp. Together with the port group SEA-Invest it is to invest some 300 to 400 million euros in construction of a tank storage terminal for liquid chemicals. This is yet more confirmation of the port's power of attraction for big investors.Mol Chemical Tankers, a member of the Japanese group Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, will team up with SEA-Invest to build a tank storage terminal in the port of Antwerp. The Sea-Mol joint venture has been set up for this purpose, for which it will invest some 300 to 400 million euros. The new investment is expected to create 100 direct jobs.The tank terminal will be located on a 45 hectare site in the Delwaide dock.

A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping group, will add devices to reduce harmful exhaust emissions to some of its ships ahead of new global fuel regulations starting in 2020.To combat air pollution, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations' shipping agency, has set global regulations to cap the sulphur content in marine fuels, known as bunkers, at 0.5 percent down from 3.5 percent now.Shipowners could meet the new regulations by installing sulphur-stripping exhaust cleaning systems…

Vopak Rotterdam Botlek is investing in 63.000 cbm state-of-the-art stainless steel capacity (15 tanks) for the storage of Styrene and other hazardous chemicals. Styrene is a vital product used in manufacturing of a wide variety of consumer goods serving markets such as packaging, construction (for example isolation) and automotive. The new infrastructure will be fully insulated to allow for product temperature control and is designed to prevent any emissions to the environment. The new storage capacity connects seaborne trade flows via barges, block-trains and trucks to the European hinterland. Royal Vopak is the world’s leading independent tank storage company.

A.P. Moller - Maersk and Royal Vopak, an independent tank storage operator active in the heart of Rotterdam’s bunker environment, have agreed to this first joint initiative which will cater for circa 20% of Maersk global demand, enabling A.P. Moller - Maersk to deliver approximately 2.3mt per year.As an anchor tenant in the modified facilities this agreement will enable Maersk, as well as any other interested third parties, to supply vessels trading with and inside Europe with compliant fuel. “We trust that this initiative will put to rest some of the concerns the industry has on fuel availability as well as secure our continued competitiveness in the market,” says Niels Henrik Lindegaard, Head of Maersk Oil Trading, a division of A.P.

Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group jointly announce that  they intend to sell HES International to a consortium of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) & Goldman Sachs. Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5, which is managed by MIRA, and West Street Infrastructure Partners III (WSIP), which is managed by the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, have reached an agreement in principle with Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group to acquire HES International. Capital for the original investment by Riverstone and Carlyle came from two funds: (i) Riverstone/Carlyle Global Energy & Power Fund IV, L.P. and (ii) Carlyle International Energy Partners, L.P. (CIEP). HES will now initiate consultations where appropriate with the relevant works councils.