Tankship News

In Havila Kystruten AS v Abarca Compania de Seguros AS,¹ in which Watson Farley & Williams LLP represented the successful Norwegian shipowner, an English court has provided helpful and very detailed guidance on a number of issues relating to the parties’ rights to terminate shipbuilding contracts as well as the nature and scope of refund guarantees.BackgroundRefund guarantees are the lifeblood of shipbuilding, providing invaluable security to owners/buyers who must usually cash fund a significant proportion of the price of newbuildings during the construction phase (usually at least 40%)…

Palatka, Fla. based St. Johns Ship Building is constructing a self-propelled, 10,000 gallon, USCG Inspected, double-hull tankship for Intracoastal Marine Fuel (IMF) of Jupiter, Fla. Designed by JMS Naval Architects, the 53- by 18-foot tankship design is unique for its compact size and diesel outboard propulsion.The innovative design is the smallest vessel to receive U.S. Coast Guard plan approval as a Subchapter D tankship.IMF will use the vessel to deliver marine diesel to mega-yachts, commercial, and recreational vessels in the Palm Beach, Fla. area.

In mid-September, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued the 35th USCG Ballast Water Management System Type Approval Certificate after a detailed review of Seattle-based manufacturer oneTank, LLC’s type approval application determined its system met the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060.The recent U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Approval, which follows the DNV GL Certificate of Approval awarded on behalf of the Norwegian Maritime Authority in compliance with the International Maritime Organization BWMS Code in July 2020…

ClassNK Archive Center (NKAC) has stored the first Ship Construction Files (SCF) complying with IMO Global Based Standards (GBS) for the NACKS-built 311,000 DWT VLCC delivered on October 26, 2018, managed by MOL Tankship Management (Asia) Pte. Ltd.To encourage design transparency and help ensure safety throughout the life of vessels, SOLAS regulation II-1/3-10 entered into force in 2012, requiring SCF complying with IMO GBS to be provided by shipyards on a new ship’s delivery and kept on board and/or ashore.

The Coast Guard Sector New York is responding to a report of a collision at sea May 12, 2018, involving the loaded tankship Tofteviken and the commercial fishing vessel Polaris. Coast Guard marine inspectors and investigators are investigating the cause of the collision and assessing the damage to the Tofteviken’s hull, and to ensure appropriate repairs are completed. The collision allegedly occurred nearly 30 miles southeast of Bridgehampton, New York. The Tofteviken was transiting to New York while the Polaris was transiting back to its homeport in Massachusetts after a night of fishing. The Polaris, an 84-foot steel vessel built in 2007, suffered damage to its bow and outrigger. There were seven people aboard at the time of collision with no report of injuries.

A variety of U.S. Coast Guard-approved maritime training courses are being offered this spring at the San Jacinto College Maritime Technology and Training Center on the Maritime Campus in La Porte, Texas. These courses are open for companies looking to update their crews’ training and licensing and for individual mariners. The Center offers a comprehensive professional mariner program and an associate degree in maritime transportation. It is located at 3700 Old Highway 146 in La Porte, Texas. Feb. Feb. Feb. Basic Fire Fighting (BST Pt. Feb. Feb. Feb. First Aid and CPR (BST Pt. Feb. Feb. Feb.

Nordic American Tankers Limited ("NAT") says the one of its vessels, the 'Nordic Passat' performed a rescue operation, involving 150 people in the Mediterranean last Saturday afternoon, September 27, 2014. The refugees were in a wooden boat with engine trouble. Nordic Passat was in an area South East of Sicily when it got involved in the rescuing of the refugees and brought them to Augusta in Italy this Monday morning. The refugees come from Somalia, Eritrea, Bangladesh, Sudan and Palestinians from Syria and Palestinians from Lebanon. There were 14 children, 19 women and 117 men among the refugees who were in relatively good condition and were given food and shelter onboard the ship. The rescue operation was completed early this morning Monday September 29, 2014 in Italy.

Reported business this week has been focussed on the tanker, container and gas markets, says Clarkson Hellas in their latest S&P Weekly Bulletin. Whilst under discussion for some months, Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers have now signed two firm plus two optional 160,000dwt Shuttle Tankers at HHI. Delivery of the firm vessels is planned from end 2016, with options into 2017. In Japan, a yet unknown European owner is understood to have contracted a single 50,000dwt MR product tanker at Onomichi, with delivery in late 2018. No pricing has been disclosed. A number of orders in gas are reported by Clarkson Hellas, starting with the largest sizes, BW Gas have confirmed an order for two firm 173,400cbm LNG carriers at DSME.

Wärtsilä says it has launched its new SK 5054 MkII chemical and oil products tanker design at the current SMM conference and exhibition in Hamburg, Germany. The proven Wärtsilä SK 5054 ship design has been used for more than 60 vessels already built and in operation. The SK 5054 MkII version builds upon this strong foundation to offer a reliable and environmentally sound ship design that incorporates the latest Wärtsilä technology applied to its broad offering of solutions. In particular, the new design facilitates the use of gas as a marine fuel, thereby making it especially applicable to ships that will operate within emission control areas (ECAs). This new design offers a 12% increase in energy efficiency over the original SK 5054 design.

Harbour & terminal information providers, Shipping Guides Ltd, says its latest tanker-specific  addition enables customers to access the most comprehensive port information available from their desktops without having to rely on expensive satellite connections. Ports and terminals meeting users’ requirements can be identified in just a few simple clicks and the new tanker specific version is tailored to the day-to-day tanker information requirements of oil majors. Access to specific port information - including mooring diagrams, berthing facilities and cargo handling capability - has never been more focused or fast. “From producing the Guide to Tanker Ports (GTTP) for over 40 years…

Denmark-based TORM say that all lenders have supported the agreement to extend the existing Super Senior Working Capital Facility by six months until 31 March 2015 to facilitate the completion of the recapitalization process. Given the current limited draw, the extended facility will be reduced from USD 100m to USD 50m on TORM’s request, however the extension remains subject to continued progress in the recapitalization process. 'The 100% consent level representing more than 40 lenders is a strong sign of the support to TORM and the efforts to recapitalize the Company. The aim is to reach a long-term solution for the capital structure within the timeframe of this extension', says CEO Jacob Meldgaard.

A couple of orders to report in dry this week with Santoku Senpaku adding further Kamsarmax to their orderbook, this time for two firm 82,000 dot bulk carriers at Tsuneishi Zosen with delivery in 2017. Navibulgar have also contracted four firm plus two option 42,300 dot Ice 1C Handymax. Delivery is due in 2016 with pricing understood to be just above USD 24 Mill per vessel. In tankers, Sungdong have added two firm widebeam 74.5k DWT LR1 to their orderbook with an order from Nisshin. Delivery is from the end of 2016. In gas, KSS Line have announced that they have added a third vessel to their series of 84,000 CBM VLGCs at HHI, with delivery of the latest vessel in mid-2016.

According to the US Coast Guard, the disabled mixed-products tanker 'Pine Galaxy' has arrived in San Francisco for repairs. Commercial tugs towed the ship safety into the Port of San Francisco with an escort by the Coast Guard Cutter Pike and the crew of a Coast Guard Station San Francisco 45-foot Response Boat — Medium. The Pine Galaxy will undergo repairs and inspection at a shipyard in San Francisco. There are no reports of damage to the ship’s cargo tanks, fuel tanks or hull. The Coast Guard, along with several federal, state and local partners formed a safety team with the ship’s owners to coordinate the safe arrival of the ship.

The U.S. Coast Guard informs that along with several federal, state and local partner agencies, it has formed a safety and assessment team with the owners of the disabled tanker 'Pine Galaxy' to ensure the safety of the ship’s crew and finalize plans for the ship to be brought into the Port of San Francisco for repairs. The 485-foot Bahamian registered ship experienced an engine room fire on Aug. 13 that resulted in the death of one crew member and the loss of electrical power and propulsion. The ship, a mixed-product carrier, is currently being towed toward San Francisco with a varying arrival time based on weather conditions and the speed of the tow. Cargoes include neutral oil, tetramer, propylene tetramer and vegetable oil.

Swedish tankship owners Concordia Maritime inform of positive results in the first half of 2014 after the sale of shares in jointly-controlled entities, Stena Poseidon and Palva. Concordia Maritime is an international tanker shipping company. Its focus is on cost-effective and safe transportation of refined petroleum products and vegetable oils. The company’s B shares were admitted to trading on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm in 1984.

No tankship orders noted the past week by Clarkson Hellas in their latest S&P Weekly Bulletin, but no lack of orders in the dry bulk carrier market, all from Far East shipbuilders. Foremost Maritime are understood by Clarkson Hellas to have added a further four 180,000 dwt Capesize to their orderbook at Beihai, taking the series to six vessels. Delivery is planned from end 2015 and through 2016. Reuben Brothers have ordered two 82,000 dwt bulk carriers at JMU Yokohama. The vessels are due for delivery in early 2016, and take the buyers total Kamsarmax orderbook to seven, with existing orders for five units at Sungdong. Shih Wei Navigation are understood to have added a further 60k Supramax at Onomichi…

Coast Guard crews and the tankship Elia are searching for one of the vessel's crew members off Port Aransas, Texas. The USCG informs that missing is the chief engineer, a 47-year-old Russian man. After searching throughout the ship, the crew of the 800-foot Liberian flagged tanker called the Coast Guard for help on Sunday. They reported that the chief engineer had been seen around 10:10 a.m., but did not show up after being requested at 10:30 a.m. They were about 20 miles offshore, en route to the Port Aransas anchorage. Coast Guard Sector Houston/Galveston watchstanders responded to the call and Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders began…

KNOT Offshore Partners says it has entered into agreements to acquire from Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS all of the ownership interests in the companies that own and operate the shuttle tankers 'Hilda Knutsen' and 'Torill Knutsen'. At the same time KNOT announce the public offering of 4,600,000 common share units. The purchase price of the Hilda Knutsen is $166.0 million, net of $109.6 million of outstanding indebtedness related to the vessel. The purchase price of the Torill Knutsen is $169.0 million, net of $112.1 million of outstanding indebtedness related to the vessel. The two shuttle tankers are operating in the North Sea under time charters with Eni Trading & Shipping S.p.A.

Concern about oversupply only occurs when there are too many ships relative to demand, and in a recent 'Industry Note', McQuilling Services attempts to quantify the situation. Much has been said about the product tanker market recently, mainly about tonnage supply. More industry voices are speaking about their concern of over-ordering and too many ships. However, the number of vessels on order and planned for delivery is really only half the story. As long as there is enough demand, any number of ships on order may be acceptable. Concern about oversupply only occurs when there are too many ships relative to demand. In this note we look at product tanker demand to try to quantify the other half of the story.

KNOT Offshore Partners LP say they have fixed with Brazil Shipping I Limited (an affiliate of BG Group) the time charter of the crude oil/shuttle tanker 'Windsor Knutsen'. The hire rate for the initial term of two years is in line with the rate in the existing charter with BG, which has options to extend the term of the charter for three additional one-year periods. The charter will commence in or around the fourth quarter of 2015. If all three extension options are exercised, the Windsor Knutsen will operate for BG until the end of 2020. The shuttle tanker will operate in Brazil. BG has recently notified the KNOT Partnership that the Windsor Knutsen will be redelivered under its existing charter at the end of July 2014.

An oil tanker missing for a week off the coast of West Africa was attacked by pirates who stole its cargo, the company that managed the ship said on Thursday after speaking with its captain. The Liberia-flagged MT Fair Artemis had last made contact with its manager, Fairdeal Group SA, on June 4 when it was off the coast of Ghana. "The ship was boarded by a number of pirates who have stolen the cargo and other items on the vessel," Fairdeal fleet director John Gray said in a statement, adding that all on board were safe. The statement gave no further details. Pirate attacks jumped by a third off the coast of West Africa last year, pushing up insurance costs for shipping firms operating in a key commodities export hub.

The latest report of a tanker hijack in Southeast Asia has prompted Dryad Maritime to issue an advisory to its shipping clients, on the basis that the crime follows a pattern, which has seen up to six such attacks, over the last nine months. The Company issued its advisory to maritime clients from its 24/7 Portsmouth, UK-based operations facility, explaining that the [Thai tankship] MT Orapin 4 laden with a fuel oil cargo, departed Singapore on 27th May 2014 and became the subject of a missing vessel alert the next day when attempts by her shipping company to contact her failed. The vessel had been scheduled to transit to Pontianak, Indonesia on 29th May, but was hijacked by pirates who damaged communications equipment and subsequently siphoned off the vessel’s fuel oil cargo.

A Thai oil tanker reported missing two days ago has been recovered with all of its crew members safe but pirates who hijacked the tanker took its cargo and damaged communications gear, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Monday. The MT Orapin 4 lost contact with authorities after departing for Indonesia from a terminal in Singapore on Friday, prompting the IMB to send an alert shortly after. The tanker arrived in Thailand's Sri Racha port on Sunday evening and Thai authorities will be investigating the incident, Noel Choong, the head of IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center, told Reuters. Pirates [also] raided a tanker off the coast of Malaysia in late April, taking 3 million litres of diesel. (By Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah