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Oil Transfer News

01 Aug 2023

Video: Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfer from FSO Safer Progressing Well

Source: Boskalis

The ship-to-ship transfer of the oil from the FSO Safer to the replacement oil tanker Yemen (formerly known as Nautica) began last week.It was an important milestone in this United Nations-coordinated operation to avert a potential massive environmental and humanitarian disaster off the coast of Yemen.Boskalis reports that the oil transfer is progressing well and will take two to three weeks.Hydraulic pumps have been lowered into each tank of the FSO Safer. During the transfer operation, inert gas is supplied to keep the tank atmosphere at safe levels during the operation.

25 Jul 2023

UN Starts Removing Oil from Decaying FSO in Red Sea

(Photo: Boskalis)

The United Nations said on Tuesday it had started the removal of more than 1 million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker off Yemen's Red Sea coast in a complex operation it hopes will ward off a regional disaster.U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.A U.N. spokesperson said on Tuesday a spill could cost $20 billion to clean up.The war in Yemen caused the suspension in 2015 of maintenance operations on the Safer…

11 Jul 2023

Indonesia Seizes Iranian-Flagged Supertanker Suspected of Illegal Oil Transfer

Indonesia's coast guard said on Tuesday it seized an Iranian-flagged supertanker suspected of involvement in the illegal transshipment of crude oil, and vowed to toughen maritime patrols.The MT Arman 114 was carrying 272,569 metric tons of light crude oil, valued at 4.6 trillion rupiah ($304 million), when it was seized last week, the Indonesian authorities said.The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was suspected of transferring oil to another vessel without a permit on Friday, the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security agency said.The vessel was captured after being spotted in Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, carrying out a ship-to-ship oil transfer with the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, the agency's chief, Aan Kurnia, said.

16 Feb 2023

Danish-operated Tanker Seeking New Port After Spanish Entry Ban

Singapore-flagged tanker Maersk Magellan is looking for another location after being stopped from entering a Spanish port over an earlier oil transfer, its Danish operator Maersk Tankers said on Thursday.Spain's northeastern Tarragona port on Feb. 10 refused entry to the Maersk Magellan after its cargo of oil products was found to have previously been carried by a vessel that was formerly Russian flagged.Trade in oil and oil products linked to Russia has been complicated by the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations' imposition of a price cap on Russian oil in December and separate European Union measures to prohibit the import of…

15 Feb 2023

Danish-operated Tanker Banned from Spanish Ports Over Oil Transfer

A ship operated by Denmark’s Maersk Tankers has been banned from Spanish ports, Spanish officials said, after its cargo of oil products was found to have previously been carried by a vessel that was formerly Russian flagged.Trade in oil and oil products linked to Russia has been complicated by the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations' imposition of a price cap on Russian oil in December and separate European Union measures to prohibit the import of Russian crude and oil products into the bloc.Spain's northeastern Tarragona port on Feb. 10 refused entry to the Singapore-flagged Maersk Magellan tanker, saying the vessel had picked…

27 Jul 2022

Greek High Court Rules to Return Confiscated Oil Cargo

Copyright PX Media/AdobeStock

An Iranian-flagged tanker anchored off Piraeus port is expected this week to retrieve part of its cargo which was confiscated by the United States and sail back to Iran, following a Greek top court ruling, government sources said on Wednesday. The case has strained relations between Athens and Tehran amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States.The removal of oil from the Lana, formerly Pegas, prompted Iranian forces to seize two Greek tankers in the Middle East Gulf which have not yet been released. "The (Greek) Supreme Court's ruling...

21 Feb 2022

Greek Manager of Oaktree-backed Tanker Says Probing Possible Iran Oil Transfer

Greece-based Empire Navigation is investigating whether Iranian oil was transferred onto one of the vessels it manages, the company said in a statement, after a U.S. advocacy group first made such allegation last week.Top oil shipping companies say they are grappling with a growing risk of handling oil shipments originating from countries that have been targeted by U.S. sanctions such as Iran and Venezuela.A breach of U.S. sanctions could lead to a company losing access to the dollar financial system, having assets seized, and insurance cover for ships canceled, U.S. and insurance industry officials say.Empire Navigation said it was "aware of the allegation of non-compliance regarding our managed vessel…

20 Jan 2022

Hornblower Acquires Two Offshore Vessels

(Photo: Hornblower Group)

Hornblower Group announced on Wednesday it has acquired two offshore vessels: the Seaward Explorer and Seaward Endeavor, previously the California Responder and Pacific Responder, respectively. Seaward Services, Inc. (SSI), part of the Hornblower Group of maritime businesses, is offering the multipurpose supply vessels for charter, with prompt availability.The Seaward Explorer and Seaward Endeavor were built at VT Halter Marine in Mississippi, commissioned by Marine Spill Response Company (MSRC) in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

25 Jan 2021

Iran Asks Indonesia to Explain Tanker Seizures

Iran has asked Indonesia to provide details about the seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday, a day after Jakarta said it had seized Iran and Panama-flagged tankers in its waters.Indonesia said on Sunday its coast guard had seized the Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Freya vessels over suspected illegal oil transfer in the country’s waters.Khatibzadeh said that the seizure was over a “a technical issue and it happens in shipping field”.“Our Ports Organisation and the ship owner company are looking to find the cause of the issue and resolve it,” Khatibzadeh told a televised weekly news conference.Coast guard spokesman Wisnu Pramandita said the tankers…

25 Jan 2021

Indonesia Seizes Iran, Panama-flagged Vessels Citing Illegal Oil Transfer

Iranian-flagged MT Horse (formerly known as Honar) - Credit: Mick Prendergast

Indonesia said its coast guard seized the Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Freya vessels over suspected illegal oil transfer in the country's waters on Sunday.Coast guard spokesman Wisnu Pramandita said the tankers, seized in waters off Kalimantan province, will be escorted to Batam island in Riau Island Province for further investigation."The tankers, first detected at 5:30 a.m. local time (2130 GMT on Jan. 23) concealed their identity by not showing their national flags…

16 Dec 2020

Venezuela: PDVSA Starts Oil Transfer from Troubled Offshore Facility to Barge

The FSO Nabarima listing in the Gulf of Paria on October 16 (Photo: Fishermen and Friends of the Sea)

Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela has begun transferring crude off of an offshore oil facility where governments in two neighboring countries have voiced concerns about a potential spill, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.The company this week began the first of several transfers from the Nabarima floating storage and offloading facility (FSO), anchored in the Corocoro oilfield off Venezuela's eastern coast, onto the Inmaculada barge, said the people…

12 Jun 2020

How China Got Venezuelan Oil Despite US Sanctions

Last year, China replaced the United States as the No. 1 importer of oil from Venezuela, yet another front in the heated rivalry between Washington and Beijing.The United States had imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company as part of a bid to topple that country’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. U.S. refineries stopped buying Venezuelan crude. Caracas’ ally China, long a major customer, suddenly found itself the top purchaser. Through the first six months of 2019, it imported an average of 350,000 barrels per day of crude from Venezuela.But in August, Washington tightened its sanctions on Venezuela, warning that any foreign entity that continued to do business with the South American country’s government could find itself subject to sanctions.

11 Dec 2018

Shell Confirms Oil Leak in Brazilian Waters

(Photo: Shell)

A small amount of crude oil belonging to Royal Dutch Shell Plc leaked during a ship-to-ship oil transfer in Brazilian waters last month, the company confirmed to Reuters on Monday.About 200 milliliters of crude were released on Nov. 30 during the maneuver, which was halted after the drip was detected, Shell said, adding that authorities were notified and the incident left no trace of oil in the sea.However, a letter obtained by Reuters and sent to Brazilian environmental regulator…

28 Nov 2018

Brazil Ship Collision Reveals Offshore Regulatory Gaps

© Nightman1965 / Adobe Stock

Brazil has more than doubled the number of risky ship-to-ship oil transfers this year, but its monitoring of such offshore maneuvers is lax, to a point where a July 2017 collision between two tankers was not reported, according to a Reuters review of government and shipping records.Transfers are projected to keep rising as the country's deep-water discoveries have lured major companies including Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to recent offshore auctions. During these maneuvers, ships pull alongside one another and oil is transferred to a vessel via high-pressure hoses.

06 Nov 2018

Trelleborg Launches New STS Oil Transfer Solution

Kleline hoses used in STS transfer (Photo: Trelleborg)

Trelleborg’s oil & marine hose operation has launched the KLELINE STS oil transfer solution, which is set to upgrade safety and operability standards in ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfer around the world. This solution sets a new benchmark for safe and efficient ship-to-ship oil transfer, inspired by unique floating hose design, qualified to GMPHOM 2009 standard.STS transfer is becoming an increasingly popular option among ship operators and managers, as it allows vessels carrying liquid cargo to transfer offshore.

07 Jun 2018

PDVSA Completes Oil Transfer to Ease Tanker Bottleneck

Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA has completed its first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer designed to ease a severe bottleneck of tankers around its main crude ports, according to sources close to the operation and Reuters vessel tracking data.PDVSA has notified customers in recent days that they must agree to load crude in Venezuela's open waters rather than its ports to avoid a possible declaration of force majeure that would temporarily interrupt some of its supply contracts.The Suezmax tanker Sonangol Kalandula, bound for Tipco Asphalt's refinery in Kemaman, Malaysia, has not yet set sail. The vessel had been waiting since February to load Venezuelan Boscan heavy crude, according to the data.(Reporting by Mircely Guanipa and Marianna Parraga Editing by Leslie Adler)

03 Apr 2018

UN Sanctions North Korean Ship for Illegal STS Oil Transfer

The United Nations has blacklisted a North Korean ship for receiving oil in an October transfer that breached U.N. sanctions, as first revealed by Reuters. Reuters in December reported that Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea, which relies on imported fuel to keep its struggling economy functioning, by transferring cargoes at sea. European security sources told Reuters that a Russian vessel conducted a ship-to-ship transfer with the North Korean-flagged Sam Ma 2 tanker in open seas during October. "A DPRK-flagged (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) tanker, SAM MA 2 owned by Korea Samma Shipping Company, conducted a ship-to-ship transfer of oil and fabricated documents in mid-October 2017…

21 Feb 2016

Vessel Spills 80 Gallons of Oil Into Columbia River

Columbia's state environmental agency said that roughly 80 gallons of oil was spilled into the Columbia River by a vessel near Kalama. The Nord Auckland, a 618-foot ship flagged in Singapore, reportedly spilled the waste oil during an internal oil transfer on Thursday morning. The ship, owned and operated by Denmark’s Norden, was at anchor when an apparent operator error led to the spill of substances which were intended to be incinerated. The multi-team response was coordinated by the Washington Department of Ecology and the US Coast Guard (USCG). Department of Ecology documents say the cause is still under investigation but the source of the spill was secured and no additional spills are expected.

23 Nov 2015

Malaysia Detains 3 Vessels Over Illegal Oil Transfer

Three oil tanker ships were detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) off the waters of Pengerang  for illegal ship-to-ship transfer of marine fuel oil (MFO) near Pengerang. Tanjung Sedili District Maritime Enforcement head, Maritime Capt Amran Daud said all three vessels were detained by a patrol boat at 9.15am about 3.8 nautical miles southeast of Ramunia Bay. Daud said the three ships were each registered in San Lorenzo in Peru, Kuching in Sarawak and Jakarta, Indonesia, respectively. "When detained, it was found that the MT Atami Maru was registered in San Lorenzo and has 16 Thai crew and one Indonesian crew on board and were transfering suspected marine fuel oil (MFO) to two ships, MT TB Macallan and MT TB LL Lamborghini," he said in a statement.

25 Feb 2015

Lysblink Seaways to Be Towed to Shelter

Cargo ship Lysblink Seaways, which ran aground on Scotland’s west coast February 18, will be transported to shelter this afternoon after a successful ship-to-ship fuel oil transfer was performed yesterday, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. The ship was refloated last week and anchored in Mingary Bay, though forecasts of bad weather led to a resolution to move the vessel into a more sheltered position. Hugh Shaw, the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention has authorized the move, MCA said, adding the decision has the full support of the Scottish Environment Group and Marine Scotland. Eexpected to begin around 2 p.m.

31 Jul 2014

Kurdish Crude Lightered, Destination Unknown

Part of a Kurdish oil cargo has been offloaded from a Greek-managed tanker into another tanker in the South China Sea, but mystery surrounds the identity of the buyer and where the two tankers are headed. The United Emblem, which is carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil, is one of three tankers loaded with oil from the autonomous Kurdish region, which is trying to sell oil independently. Iraqi Kurdistan is locked in a bitter legal and diplomatic struggle with Baghdad over international oil sales. A U.S. judge on Tuesday refused a request by Baghdad, citing a lack of jurisdiction, to seize 1 million barrels of oil aboard the United Kalavrvta tanker, which has been anchored off the port of Galveston since the weekend.

27 May 2014

North American Oil Trains Under Scrutiny

Sheriff Craig Apple assured a room of concerned citizens that county emergency crews were prepared to handle an oil-train accident involving three or four tank cars. Firefighters have been training to combat railcar fires with foam, and evacuation plans are detailed in a 500-page emergency response plan, Apple told residents in a May 12 address. Albany's tracks handle as much as a fourth of the oil pumped from North Dakota's booming Bakken Shale, or up to several 100-car trains per day, each carrying 70,000 barrels. It is one of several spots along North America's new oil-by-rail corridors where residents and officials are restless, following six fiery derailments in the past 10 months.

14 Apr 2014

Pioneering Tech for Offshore Wind Farm Maintenance

Image Courtesy James Fisher Renewables

James Fisher Renewables conducted an innovative trial of Ship-to-Turbine (STT), an oil change system set to significantly improve safety, efficiency and reduce down time in offshore wind turbine gearbox oil changes. James Fisher Renewables reports that it has successfully trialed an innovative oil transfer system for the direct extraction and refill of offshore wind gearbox oils from a conventional access vessel, a trial performed on an offshore wind farm off the Norfolk coast.