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Crude Oil Tankers News

20 Mar 2024

Reliance Refusing Sovcomflot Oil Shipments

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

India's Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, will not buy Russian oil loaded on tankers operated by shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF) after recent U.S. sanctions, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The development adds to oil export problems for Russia as its oil firms may face difficulties finding ships to sell surplus oil after recent Ukrainian drone attacks on the state's refineries. Russian companies are already struggling to collect payments for oil exports due to banking restrictions.The U.S.

06 Mar 2024

MOL and Petrobras Sign Cargo Transfer Vessels Deals

Sealoader 2 (Credit: MOL)

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Brazil’s state-owned energy giant Petrobras have signed a charter contract for cargo transfer vessel (CTV) SeaLoader 2, and agreed to start negotiations for a new CTV shipbuilding contract by the end of 2024.MOL signed the deal through its wholly owned subsidiary, SeaLoading Holding, which owns and operates CTVs.SeaLoading started a CTV agreement with Petrobras for SeaLoader 2 on a trial period in January 2022, and successfully completed more than 30 crude oil offloading operations from Petrobras' FPSOs located in the Santos Basin


23 Feb 2024

US Imposes Sanctions on Russia's Leading Tanker Group Sovcomflot

© Andriy Sharpilo / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Treasury said on Fridayit has imposed sanctions on Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot FLOT.MM, as Washington seeks to reduce Russia's revenues from oil sales that it can use to support its invasion of Ukraine.The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control also designated 14 crude oil tankers vessels as property in which Sovcomflot has an interest. It issued a general license allowing the offloading of crude oil, or other cargoes, from the vessels for 45 days."Sovcomflot as a whole


27 Dec 2023

Back to the Drawing Board: The Worst Ship in History – Exxon Valdez

Photo: U.S. Coast Guard

While Greg Trauthwein never assigns me column subjects, each time the Great Ships issue comes around I go with the theme. However, I try to take a view askew on that subject and have found that these are the rare columns where I am criticized for my views. Greg must enjoy that, and this year he asked me to write a column on the worst ship designs. That was the entire assignment, and it was unclear if he asked me to discuss the worst ship designs for 2023, or in the history of ship design.

17 Nov 2023

NYK Group, Stolt Tankers, and ENEOS Ocean Unveil Chemical Ship Pool Business

Credit: Stolt Tankers (File image)

The NYK Group, Stolt Tankers, and ENEOS Ocean launched a chemical ship pool business in the Asia-Pacific region in October.Shipowners and operators pool their vessels and undertake transportation services at the request of shippers. The pool business allows more flexible transportation services that utilize economies of scale, NYK said.The project started with 13 vessels, comprising two chemical tankers owned by ENEOS Ocean and 11 chemical tankers owned by a joint venture between


14 Nov 2023

KOTUG Bolsters Guyana Fleet with Three Offshore Terminal Tugs

Credit: Kotug

KOTUG said Tuesday it had, via its Guyanese subsidiary KOTUG Guyana strengthened its position in Guyana with the arrival of three additional Offshore Terminal Tugs to support ExxonMobil Guyana’s offshore operations.With the arrival of KOTUG-owned ‘SD Grace’, ‘Seaways 20’ and ‘Seaways 22’, KOTUG will operate a total of five offshore terminal tugs in Guyana.The vessels predominantly provide support (“tanker lifting operations”) to the large crude oil tankers that are loading crude oil from ExxonMobil's producing FPSOs in the Stabroek field


12 Oct 2023

OSG Buys Laid Up Jones Act Tanker from BP

U.S. shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) on Thursday announced it has reached an agreement with BP Oil Shipping Company to purchase the Jones Act compliant crude oil tanker Alaskan Frontier.Built by General Dynamics NASSCO in 2004, the 1.3-million-barrel capacity tanker is a sister to three other Alaskan Class vessels operated by OSG’s wholly owned subsidiary, Alaskan Tanker Company. It was part of Alaska Tanker Company's active fleet  until 2019 when the vessel was placed in cold lay-up in Labuan, Malaysia.OSG said it expects the transaction will be completed in early November. Afterward, the company intends to reactivate the tanker


29 May 2023

China Merchants Shipping Orders Methanol-Ready Crude Oil Tankers

Source: CSSC

Shipowner China Merchants Shipping has signed a construction contract for two methanol-ready crude oil tankers to be delivered by China State Shipbuilding Trading, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group.The two 115,000-ton crude oil tankers will have selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to reduce NOx emissions and a scrubber to reduce SOx emissions.On delivery, the vessels will serve the world's top five major oil companies such as PetroChina


11 Apr 2023

India Set to Finally Privatize Shipping Corp of India after Years of Delay

The Indian government plans to invite financial bids for the privatization of Shipping Corp of India Ltd (SCI) next month, as it looks to sell the state-run company after years of delay, two government officials told Reuters.The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had, in 2019, announced plans to privatize a number of state-run companies, including selling its stake in SCI, which was stalled due to regulatory delays.SCI – which owns and operates bulk carriers and crude oil tankers, among others – had to spin off its non-core assets before the government could sell its 63.75% stake, which hit a roadblock over the amount of funds to be transferred to the demerged entity.SCI completed the spinoff last month after getting regulatory approval late in February.This demerged entity


04 Jan 2023

Future Fuels: 275 Altenative Fuel Ships Ordered in 2022

MAN ES will start testing its ammonia fueled engine in Q1 2023, and on Maritime Reporter & Engineering News' recent visit to
the MAN ES R&D center in Copenhagen, Bjarne Foldager, Senior Vice President, head of two stroke business at MAN ES, said he
sees a rapid uptake on methnol in the coming years, with 2035 anticipated as a 'tipping point' toward ammonia. Photo of
the MAN ES ammonia engine. Look for the full report in the January 2023 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. Im

The total number of ships with alternative fuels ordered in 2022 was 275 (excluding battery operated vessels), according to  numbers released today from DNV viat its Alternative Fuels Insight report.In addition, more than 50 LPG carriers have been ordered with LPG dual fuel systems. Predictably, LNG led the way with 222 ships or 81 % of total orders. Seventy-four percent of these orders were for container vessels and Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs), while product tankers came in third representing 9 % of orders.

13 Dec 2022

Turkey Strikes Deal on New Crude Tanker Insurance Regulations

©momentscatcher/AdobeStock

Turkey welcomed an agreement reached with its counterparts on Tuesday that allows the continuation of a new regulation requiring crude oil tankers to present an insurance confirmation letter before transiting Turkish straits.The Turkish measures, which came into effect on Dec. 1, require vessels to provide proof of insurance for the duration of transit through the Bosphorus or when calling at Turkish ports.The regulation has caused shipping delays, with up to 20 tankers waiting at the same time in the Black Sea last week, as they worked to present the necessary documents.

05 Dec 2022

Oil Tankers Queue off Turkey as Price Cap on Russian Crude Kicks In

© sarymsakov / Adobe Stock

Oil tankers formed a traffic jam off the coast of Turkey on day one of the West's price cap on Russian crude, with Ankara insisting on new proof of insurance for all vessels, the Financial Times reported on Monday.Around 19 crude oil tankers were waiting to cross Turkish waters on Monday, the report said, citing ship brokers, oil traders and satellite tracking services.A $60 per barrel price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations, Australia and the 27 European Union states on Russian seaborne crude oil took effect this week


27 Jul 2022

Kelleher to Succeed Tivnan as Ardmore Shipping CFO

Tanker owner/operator Ardmore Shipping Corporation on Wednesday announced the planned departure of its current chief financial officer Paul Tivnan and appointment of new CFO Bart Kelleher, effective September 28, 2022.Anthony Gurnee, Ardmore's chief executive officer, said, Kelleher and Tivnan will overlap and work together from September 1 to "achieve an orderly and well-planned transition".Kelleher brings to the role more than 25 years of progressive experience in the maritime, finance, energy and industrials sectors, having most recently served as chief executive officer of Chembulk Tankers. He previously served as both Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the firm, and prior to that, was the chief operating officer of Principal Maritime Management.

06 May 2022

Russia's Sovcomflot Plans to Sell Part of Its Fleet as It Grapples with Sanctions

For illustration only - Credit: Sovcomflot

Russia's leading shipping company Sovcomflot plans to sell part of its fleet on Friday, as it grapples with Western sanctions and seeks to repay outstanding loans.Sovcomflot has faced growing challenges in concluding charters as ports, end purchasers, marine insurers, and other freight companies pull back from Russian business amid sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Lloyds List shipping newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources, that up to a third


22 Mar 2022

Suez Canal Increases Tolls for Laden Crude Oil Tankers

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Tuesday it will temporarily increase a surcharge levied on laden crude oil tankers and petroleum products tankers transiting the canal in both directions to 15% of normal dues from 5%, effective May 1.It said that ballast crude oil tankers and petroleum products tankers transiting the Canal in both directions are still required to pay a surcharge of 5% of normal transit dues.The changes come "in line with the significant growth in global trade, the improvement of ships' economics, the Suez Canal waterway development and the enhancement of the transit servic

02 Mar 2022

Two Oil Tankers Cancel Crude Oil Loadings at Russian Black Sea Port

Novorossiysk port- Credit: seregaphoto/AdobeStock

Two crude oil tankers due to load Russian Urals and Kazakh CPC blend this week have been cancelled as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.The Wonder Vega was due to load CPC Blend on March 7 and the Iberian Sea was due to load Urals but shipowners cancelled both vessels, the sources said.Vitol, which booked the vessels, has found a replacement, according to three sources.The cancellations were due to the proximity of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Novorossiysk is a port in the Black Sea.

16 Dec 2021

Gupta joins BMT to Head of Casualty Investigation, Asia

BMT appointed Hittesh Gupta as Head of Casualty Investigation, Asia, a key position as BMT looks to expand its office presence for Marine Surveys in Singapore and strengthen its marine consulting services hub position in Asia.With more than 23-years of experience in the shipping industry, Gupta has a deep understanding of marine surveying having served on product and crude oil tankers and offshore oil & gas production units. He has worked extensively for underwriters and leading P&I Clubs undertaking casualty investigations across the full spectrum of vessels and provided assessments of their Cargo / Seaworthiness – Oil, Chemical, Gas tankers


26 Oct 2021

Sumitomo Selects Light Structures Hull Monitoring for Aframax Tanker Pair

A unique fiber optic measurement technology specified for hull stress and fatigue early warning system, and long-term design verification, was specified for a pair of Aframax tankers being built in Japan at Sumitomo. Photo courtesy SHI-ME

Light Structures AS and Japanese shipbuilder Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine & Engineering (SHI-ME) entered into an agreement for delivery of comprehensive hull stress and fatigue monitoring systems on two newbuild 115,000 DWT Aframax crude oil tankers due for delivery in Q2 2023 and Q3 2023.Hull stress monitoring is usually the preserve of larger ships and platforms, or very specialized vessels, but its deployment on Aframax vessels reflects a growing interest in long-term structural monitoring due to the safety and financial benefits it can enable


07 Oct 2021

Crude Oil Tanker Demolishing Hits 39-month High -BIMCO

© tittip / Adobe Stock

Has the lid finally come off for crude oil tanker demolition in 2021? If judged by the 1.9 million DWT of capacity that was removed in September, the answer is “yes”, says shipping organization BIMCO. Despite this, it is still too early, however, to declare a sudden U-turn, as we have only seen 2.2 million DWT scrapped in the previous eight months of this year.For the month of September, 15 crude oil tankers, three oil product tankers, two small Handymax bulkers and no containerships have been demolished.

08 Sep 2021

Profitability Still a Way Off for Tanker Shipping -BIMCO

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

New virus mutations and outbreaks have slowed the recovery in global oil demand as some countries lock down again and international travel remains complicated.Drivers of demand and freight ratesTo say that the summer has not been kind to the crude oil shipping industry would be an understatement. Average earnings have dropped below $10,000 per day since June for all crude oil tankers, with many trades offering negative earnings; freight rates are not high enough to cover voyage expenses, let alone operating and financing costs.

10 Aug 2021

VLCC Owners Avoid Scrapping ... For Now

© Carabay

During the first seven months of 2021, only three actively trading Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) have been sold for demolition. The current market for seaborne transportation of crude oil is weak and has caused freight rates to drop to multi-year lows. Despite this, crude oil tanker shipowners are not seizing the opportunity to reduce capacity and send less efficient units to the demolition yards.The subdued demolition activity is seen at a time when steel prices offered in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan – the world’s top ship demolition locations – are at an all-time high.

07 Jul 2021

KDI to Deliver Vessel Insight to Güngen's Suezmax Fleet

GĂŒngen is to deploy Kongsberg Digital’s Vessel Insight infrastructure across its entire Suezmax tanker fleet. Photo courtesy Kongsberg Digital

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) signed a contract to deliver its Vessel Insight infrastructure to Güngen Denizcilik ve Ticaret A.ƞ. (Güngen), a Turkish-owned and registered shipping company which operates a fleet of six Suezmax crude oil-tankers. Güngen will deploy KDI's Vessel Insight to help reduce emissions and optimize fleet performance.Güngen’s immediate goal for installing Vessel Insight is to benchmark the vessels within its fleet, providing the foundation for increased fuel savings and reduced emissions.

02 Jul 2021

Saltchuk Makes Bid for Overseas Shipholding Group

(Photo: OSG)

Seattle-headquartered Saltchuk Holdings informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has proposed to buy the Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) shares it doesn't already own for $3 each, lifting shares of the Tampa, Fla.-based marine transportation company on Friday.As of June 29, Saltchuk beneficially owned 15.2 million (17.5%) of OSG's outstanding shares, Saltchuk said in the SEC filing. The unsolicited bid reflects a premium of 43% to OSG's closing price of $2.10 on June 29.