Chemical Vessels News

The tanker shipping company Stena Bulk AB said that it has now had a fleet of 13 IMOIIMAX vessels of MR model on the market for a year, and an evaluation shows that the chemical vessels have been a success, both in terms of performance and business.An IMOIIMAX tanker has 18 separate tanks (3,000 m3/tank), which provides for large freedom of choice as regards combinations of cargoes. The IMOIIMAX vessels are also characterised by high safety and low fuel consumption."Utilization of and entry into the chemicals market has gone better than expected, and we have secured a good market position that we are continuing to build on. We have achieved this through not only our hard work in marketing…

The Hamburg headquartered John T. Essberger (JTE) Group will migrate the primary communication systems of its entire fleet to Sealink, Marlink’s global maritime broadband VSAT service. The Installation on 22 chemical tankers and nine dry cargo vessels is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Essberger was founded in 1924 as Atlantic Tank Reederei by tank ship pioneer John T. Essberger. The Essberger Tankers division fleet consists of chemical vessels, while JTE Dry Cargo operates a fleet of bulk carriers, multipurpose tonnage and container vessels, as well as cement tankers.

American Eagle Tankers (AET), a subsidiary of Malaysian shipping line MISC Bhd, said that it will acquire all the remaining shares of Paramount Tankers, making the latter its wholly owned subsidiary. AET will acquire Golden Energy Tanker Holdings’ 50% stake in Paramount Tankers, a joint venture between the two companies that owns and operates six aframax vessels. AET did not disclose the value of the deal, which is expected to be completed by September this year. AET President & CEO, Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam, says: “We are continually looking for opportunities to ensure sustainable growth in our business and to own / operate modern tonnage which serves our customer needs globally.

International energy logistics group MISC Berhad announced that it is to merge its chemical fleet with the clean petroleum products (CPP) fleet operated by its wholly owned petroleum subsidiary, AET. Under the new arrangement, AET will take over the 13 chemical vessels and one LPG tanker currently owned/operated by MISC and combine them with its own fleet of eight CPPs to create a new, single entity. Announcing the move, MISC President/Group CEO, Yee Yang Chien, said, “There are significant synergies to be gained from merging the two fleets and creating a consolidated products business. “The integration will also allow us to continue to expand our customer base and develop a range of long-term partnerships in the sector,” he added.

Marine paints manufacturer Hempel announced the launch of a new pure epoxy tank coating, Hempadur 15460, to replace its Hempadur 15400 tank coating. Hempadur 15460 is designed specifically as a tank coating for chemical vessels and is based on amine adduct cured epoxy technology, which the manufacturer says delivers resistance to continuous immersion in a range of chemicals, including crude oil up to temperatures of 80ºC/176ºF. The coating uses no toxic products and can be used to coat all liquid cargo tanks. It is also suitable for grey and black water tanks, mud and brine tanks, refrigerated seawater fish tanks and other vessel tanks.

Transas Marine Denmark contracted by A/S to supply & install 28 Navi-Sailor 4000 Multifunction Display Dual ECDIS units. Transas is also to upgrade another six Eitzen Chemical vessels to the latest hardware and software ECDIS standards over the next two years. The package for each vessel includes 2 x 26" Hatteland monitors, RS6B computers, radar overlay and Firewall enabling a direct connection between the vessel's satellite communication equipment and the Transas ECDIS. After the installations, all vessels will run the unique "Pay As You Sail" chart concept from Transas.

South Korea's STX Shipbuilding Co., said that its shipyard to be built will post $3b in sales in 2012, similar to that of its shipyard in Jinhae, South Korea. During a ground-breaking ceremony for the shipyard, Kang Duck-soo, chairman of STX Group, said its $500 million project to build the first South Korean-owned shipyard in China by the end of 2008 will help the company emerge as a global shipbuilder. STX Shipbuilding and its affiliate, STX Corp., will build the yard that constructs bulk carriers and smaller-sized chemical vessels. So far, the shipbuilder has won $1.1 billion worth of deals to build bulk carriers and other ships here.

Business Lines report that MISC Bhd has experienced its best performance over the past 20 years in the chemical shipping market. Freight rates for shipping chemicals reached historical highs in the second half of 2004, exceeding previous peaks of 1991 and 1995. The firmer freight rates are the result of demand outstripping supply for the more sophisticated chemical vessels and the lack of shipyard space to build stainless steel chemical vessels. The demand for chemical vessels has also edged up as countries such as India and Pakistan restrict vessels which are more than 25 years from entering their ports. Taking advantage of this market situation the carrier has placed orders for additional four chemical tankers.