Oil Consumption News

Hong Kong-based shipping company Wah Kwong is finalizing a deal later this month to double the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that it has ordered to four, as it eyes growing global trade in the superchilled fuel, its chairman said.The ships would be delivered from 2027 onwards, Wah Kwong's Executive Chairman Hing Chao told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore Maritime Week ShipZERO28 event late last week."We have always been very optimistic about the outlook of LNG as a global energy," said Chao, adding that a lot of supply will have to come from the U.S.

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's navy said on Tuesday Israel's presence in the United Arab Emirates was viewed as a threat by Tehran and it could close the Strait of Hormuz if deemed necessary.Iran has threatened to retaliate for suspected Israeli airstrikes on its consulate in Syria's capital on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers including two senior commanders - stoking tensions between the arch enemies already heightened by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza."We do not get hit without striking back…

ESNA and Strategic Marine have signed an agreement to develop a SES CTV (Surface Effect Ship Crew Transfer Vessel) for offshore wind applications.According to Wikipedia, a surface effect ship or sidewall hovercraft is a watercraft that has both an air cushion, like a hovercraft, and twin hulls, like a catamaran.The vessel type offers the combination of higher speed, increased operational wave height and reduced fuel oil consumption.The plan is to start building the first offshore…

One of the largest of the international shipping associations BIMCO has reported increased threats associated with maritime shipping amid Red Sea risks related to Houthi strikes and rise of piracy activities offshore Somalia.Since November 2023, the threat to shipping has increased as the Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Simultaneously, piracy activity off the East coast of Somalia has risen and since December, two bulk carriers and several fishing ships have been hijacked.

NYK received the grand award at Data Management 2024 hosted by the Japan Data Management Consortium (JDMC) on March 8.JDMC established the Data Management Award in 2014 to publicize data management's role and importance and share pioneering know-how.NYK has been developing and utilizing data lakes - a data management system for data utilization and analysis. They are suitable for collecting and storing vast amounts of data, regardless of the format or scale of the data to be stored.NYK…

MAN Energy Solutions has announced the production of a massive Cluster 5 Double Layer Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) converter to MITSUI E&S.The cluster comes ammonia-ready and is the largest such unit that the company has ever built.Such systems are typically used aboard cruise ships and cargo ships to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 90%.“As the very first SCR for an ammonia engine anywhere in the world, this is a historic moment. As the largest, high-pressure SCR we have ever built, this marks a new milestone for our business.

Metis Cyberspace Technology is expanding its portfolio of data acquisition, real-time performance monitoring and intelligent analytics solutions to include the needs of service operation vessels (SOVs), following collaborative project with Danish vessel owner Esvagt.The move follows a collaborative project covering fleet performance optimization with Esvagt.The SOV fulfils multiple roles - as transport ship, accommodation vessel, warehouse and workshop - presenting a challenge when it comes to assessing overall efficiency.Following an Esvagt initiative…

U.S. shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group announced it will upgrade all four vessels in its Alaskan Class fleet with new methanol-ready engines from MAN Energy Solutions.The vessels Alaskan Explorer, Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Legend and Alaskan Navigator, all approaching 20 years in age, will receive significant engine and operational improvements, resulting in environmental benefits as well as extending their commercially useful life, OSG said.The lifecycle engine upgrades involve a series of technical and commercial enhancements…

MAN Energy Solutions has unveiled a dual-fuel version of its MAN 175D high-speed engine, capable of operating on methanol, that's scheduled to become available to the market by the end of 2026. The new variant, designated MAN 175DF-M, will be available both as newbuild and retrofit variants.MAN Energy Solutions states that the 175DF-M will be optimized for diesel-mechanical and diesel-electric propulsion to achieve the largest methanol share and best efficiency for various applications and load profiles.

The Israel-Hamas war has raised the spectre of a wider regional conflict which could embroil Iran and other regional factions.Analysts and market observers say the conflict could prompt the United States to tighten sanctions on Iran, which may spur Tehran to take retaliatory action against ships in the Strait in Hormuz.The Marshall Islands registry, one of the world's top shipping flags, last week flagged that vessels with links to Israel or the United States may face a heightened threat of attack within Israeli territorial waters…

Shipbuilder and designer VARD has ordered 4 × MAN 12V175D-MEM gensets in connection with the building of a new purpose-built, cable-laying vessel (CLV) for Danish subsea specialit NCT Offshore.The gensets will form part of the vessel’s diesel-electric DP2 propulsion system, which also includes a hybrid battery package.The high-speed 175D gensets will each come accompanied by compact MAN selective catalytic reduction systems. Furthermore, MAN Energy Solutions states that the engines…

The IMO’s MEPC 80 session adopted the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships and advanced other environmental initiatives.The revised IMO GHG Strategy includes an enhanced common ambition to reach net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping close to 2050, a commitment to ensure an uptake of alternative zero and near-zero GHG fuels by 2030, as well as indicative check-points for 2030 and 2040:1. to reduce the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030, compared to 2008; and2.

“By agreeing to an additional voluntary production cut within OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) of 500,000 barrels per day in May and announcing a further independent production cut of 1,000,000 barrels per day in July, Saudi Arabia is aiming to reduce excess supply and support prices,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.According to the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration), Saudi Arabian oil production fell to 9.9 mbpd (million barrels per day) in May…

The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) - 80th session will meet at IMO Headquarters in London from July 3-7, and amongst key agenda items, the MEPC 80 session is expected to adopt an upgraded IMO greenhouse gas strategy.The revised IMO GHG Strategy will contain concrete greenhouse gas reduction targets for the sector and is expected to outline a range of technical and economic measures. Negotiations have been ongoing and will continue during the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 15)…

“Second-hand crude tanker values for five-year-old ships hit bottom levels in late 2020 and have since increased by an average 67%. Over the past twelve eventful months values have risen by 34%, reaching their highest level in 25 years,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Crude tanker values saw their most recent low in December 2020 when Clarksons Research estimated the combined value of a five-year-old Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC was USD 138.5 mill. Twelve months ago, that valuation had risen to USD 172.0 mill. (+25%).

Vitol’s Singaporean bunker operations company, V-Bunkers, has announced the imminent delivery of what will be Singapore’s first electric-hybrid bunker tanker.The vessel, Marine charge, features lithium-ion batteries and an automated Power Management System expected to achieve an estimated 10% reduction in GHG emissions.The design configuration enables the auxiliary engines to operate at the most optimal specific fuel oil consumption, while the energy storage system (ESS) performs peak shaving during low power consumption periods for usage of stored energy during high consumption periods.

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) announced it has been contracted to provide and test one nForcer high-speed engine to qualify for the Navy’s large unmanned surface vessel (LUSV) platform. To qualify, the engine must perform for a minimum of 720 hours in a land-based test environment without human intervention. Testing will begin in Q3 2023.“The LUSV platform has unprecedented power and propulsion requirements, which means that the Navy needs a power-dense engine with a reliable track record,” said FMD CEO George Whittier.

With shipowners pressed to upgrade machinery to meet strict new emission targets, there’s much confusion with chatter surrounding ‘decarbonization’ and ‘future fuels’, solutions that don’t exist today – and may not exist in mass for another generation – cluttering the conversation. Enter Wabtec, formerly GE Transportation, which today offers a Tier 4 compliant engine with no need for urea. Is it the cheapest propulsion solution on the market? No. But the Pennsylvania-based engine builder mounts a compelling case for its 250MDC diesel engine based on performance…

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering some of the previous session's losses as Kazakhstan's supplies continued to be disrupted and major producers showed no sign of being in a hurry to boost output significantly.Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.54, or 1.4%, to $114.02 a barrel by 1110 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up $1.34, or 1.3%, at $107.30. Both benchmarks had lost about 7% on Monday."There was an overreaction on Monday and the market is re-considering it," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions said it expects to  see increased sales from the imminent China’s Stage II—commonly known as the C2-emission standard (GB15097 regulation)—due to enter into force in July 2021. The new legislation will primarily apply to inland waterways, coastal areas and most rivers, covering domestic bulk carriers, feeder containers, oil tankers, passenger RoRos and government vessels, and MAN said it expects the introduction of the new regulations will spur sales of its small-bore…

Estonian ferry operator Tallink will tap sustainability and efficiency gains enabled by ABB Ability Marine Advisory Systems – OCTOPUS for its new passenger and car ferry MyStar due for delivery from the Finnish Rauma Marine Constructions shipyard in 2022.The liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered MyStar will be deployed on the 80-kilometer trans-Baltic route between Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki, Finland, and the OCTOPUS optimization software will collect and transfer operational…

The deepwater market is rapidly returning to pre-COVID-19 activity levels, and the recovery appears to be gaining strength, according to a recent in-depth analysis completed by International Maritime Associates (IMA) and World Energy Reports (WER).“Lots of green shoots have appeared,” says Jim McCaul, head of IMA/WER. “Oil inventory has been brought down to seasonal average, crude remains in the mid-$60s, bullish forecasts are being heard from key industry players and an upward…

BW Group and Miros are launching Miros Mocean, a joint venture to provide the shipping industry with a new standard in vessel performance optimization. Miros Mocean is aimed at filling the void identified by BW Group and Miros, aiming to provide "unprecedented data accuracy into the operating conditions of a vessel, a missing piece in vessel performance until now," per the press release announcing the JV.“Decarbonizing the shipping industry is the grand challenge of our time," said Remi Eriksen, DNV Group President and CEO.