Carrier Owners News

Classification society DNV said it awarded an approval in principle (AIP) certificate to Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) for its ammonia-fueled 7,000 CEU car carrier design.Ammonia is emerging as a promising alternative fuel option for shipping to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.SDARI's new ammonia-fueled pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) design is said to be the first from China. It design contains other clean features such as Shore Power, Battery/Hybrid, and NOx Tier III, to minimize emissions.

Japanese transport major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) named two newbuilding LNG carriers for the provider of natural gas Tokyo Gas at the Tsu shipyard of Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU).The newbuilding LNG tankers named as Energy Innovator and Energy Universe are the 10th and 11th LNG carriers that Tokyo LNG Tanker owns and manages.MOL is involved in the management of eight of those ships, including the two newbuilding carriers.The two vessels will transport LNG from the Cove Point LNG Project in the United States to Tokyo Gas, said a press release.Both vessels have a length of 299.9 meters, breadth of 48.9 meters and an 11.5-meter draft.Among the many guests on hand for the ceremony was Tokyo Gas President Takashi Uchida…

Monaco-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipper GasLog has agreed a 12-year charter contract with world’s largest LNG buyer, Japan’s JERA.The LNG vessel owner said in a press release that the charter party agreement was signed  with LNG Marine Transport Limited (LMT), the principal LNG shipping entity of JERA, for its existing uncommitted newbuild vessel, HN 2274. GasLog is scheduled to take delivery of the vessel, a 180,000 cubic meter Mark III Flex Plus design with low pressure two stroke propulsion, from Samsung Heavy Industries in April 2020, at which point it will commence the 12-year fixed-term time charter. The vessel offers industry leading unit freight costs to JERA.Paul Wogan…

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to have increased by 9%, from 288 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2017 to 313 mtpa in 2018, said GasLog.The Monaco-based owner, operator and manager of LNG carriers said in a stock exchange announcement that China’s LNG imports increased by approximately 16 mtpa, or 41%, to 54 mtpa in 2018, driven mainly by continued coal-to-gas switching in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors.South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand and Mexico also experienced strong growth in LNG imports during 2018. The outlook remains robust, with Wood Mackenzie forecasting compound annual growth in global LNG demand of 6% between 2018 and 2025.This growth is expected to be broad-based…

Wärtsilä, through its joint venture company CSSC Wärtsilä Engine (Shanghai) Co (CWEC), has been contracted to deliver 16 engines for four new LNG carrier vessels being built at the Hudong Zhonghua shipyard in China. The order was booked in August 2017. Each of the four 174,000 m3 capacity vessels will be fitted with four Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel generating sets running primarily on LNG fuel to provide the ships with auxiliary power. Their total power output will be 56 MW. Among the reasons given for the Wärtsilä 34DF engine being chosen for these ships were its proven reliability…

On the November 25, 2016 Europe Technologies Group signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Shipbuilding and Repair Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited in Nantes, France. This Trinidad-based ship repair arrangement with the expert guidance of the Europe Technologies Group will provide both project management and skilled personnel in organizing the working party with the ship-owner, the shipyard, the technology owner (which has around 310 LNG carriers equipped with its technologies)…

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a marine safety alert today to remind all gas carrier owners and operators to ensure that all personnel follow approved Safety Management System cargo handling procedures and industry best practices. The USCG cited a recent investigation into a cargo compressor room fire onboard a foreign flagged Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier as the reason for the safety alert. Investigators suspect that unsafe cargo handling procedures associated with manual draining of hydrates from the drain line on the outlet of re-liquefaction condensers directly contributed to this casualty. Hydrates are compounds, in the form of crystalline substances, developed from the interaction of water and hydrocarbons at certain pressures and temperatures.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., today announced the delivery of the LNG carrier Papua by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hudong) on January 30. The Papua is the first in a series of four ships to be built by Hudong to provide LNG transportation for the PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea and the Gorgon Jansz LNG project in Australia. MOL will operate the Papua under a long-term charter contract for the PNG LNG project operated by ExxonMobil. In January 2011, MOL assigned technical experts to the shipyard in China and created a shipbuilding supervision team made up of multinational staff, mostly Chinese and Japanese, to ensure the safe and high-quality construction of these LNG carriers.

LNG carrier owners and operators, GasLog Partners LP, inform it has priced its initial public offering of 8,400,000 common units representing limited partner interests at $21.00 per common unit. The common units will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on May 7, 2014 under the ticker symbol “GLOP”. The offering is expected to close on May 12, 2014. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,260,000 additional common units from the MLP at the initial public offering price. GasLog will retain 1,422,358 of the MLP’s common units if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common units is not exercised or will retain 162…

Herbert-ABS Software Solutions LLC, a marine regulatory, load management, salvage and ship design software company, has opened an office in Singapore to reinforce service and support for Asia-based shipowners, operators and shipyards, the company said. The new office will be led by Director and Naval Architect Rob Tagg, who will expand the activities and strategic plans of Herbert Engineering and Herbert-ABS Software, primarily supporting installations and sales of its CargoMax and HECSALV software products. Herbert-ABS is a joint venture with ABS so the expansion to Singapore is also intended to leverage the strong local presence they have in Southeast Asia.

Bulk carriers entered in the UK Club have the lowest number of Port State Control deficiencies when inspected according to the latest edition of “Benchmarking Bulk Carriers” published by Intercargo, and reported in the UK Club''s news. The dry cargo shipowners association report states that UK Club ships average only 1.42 deficiencies per inspection compared to an average across the International Group of 2.16. The report also shows the individual P&I club market share of Intercargo membership. The UK Club, alongside the Japan Club, clearly leads in terms of market share with just over 12%.

Bulk carrier owners & charterers Safe Bulkers, Inc. reports results for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2012, pays reduced dividend. Net revenue for the third quarter of 2012 increased by 10.1% to $46.8 million from $42.5 million during the same period in 2011. Net income for the third quarter of 2012 increased by 4.5% to $20.7 million from $19.8 million during the same period in 2011. Adjusted net income1 for the third quarter of 2012 decreased by 12.0% to $22.8 million from $25.9 million during the same period in 2011. Net revenue for the nine-months period ended September 30, 2012 increased by 9.5% to $138.0 million from $126.0 million during the same period in 2011.

GasLog Ltd., owner, operator & manager of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) carriers, reports financial results for second quarter 2012. GasLog’s fleet consists of 10 wholly-owned LNG carriers, including two ships delivered in 2010 and eight LNG carriers on order. In addition, GasLog currently has 12 LNG carriers operating under its technical management for third parties. • Continued strong fundamentals for the LNG industry. • For the second quarter, GasLog reports Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $8.4 million, Adjusted Profit(1) of $2.6 million and Loss of $3.6 million. • Adjusted earnings per share ("EPS")(1) of $0.04 and loss per share of $(0.06) for the second quarter of 2012. • Operating performance in-line with management’s expectations and reflects full employment of the delivered fleet.

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: SHIP) announce it has received written notification from The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) dated June 29, 2012, indicating that because the market value of the publicly held shares (“MVPHS”) of the Company’s common stock for 30 consecutive business days, from May 16, 2012 to June 28, 2012, was below the minimum requirement of $5,000,000 for the continued listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, the Company is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(1)(C). The applicable grace period to regain compliance is 180 days. The Company intends to monitor the MVPHS of its common stock between now and December 26, 2012 and is considering its options in order to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Global Market MVPHS requirement.

In recent weeks, we have examined various aspects of Chinese shipping developments and we make no apology for reporting a recent New York conference at which China was again the key focus. The country is, after all, the principal factor that is fueling the dry and liquid bulk markets and the container trades. Only a few tanker owners can remember super-profits on today’s scale and bulk carrier owners have only ever dreamt of the rates prevailing today. Shipbuilding capacity in China, meanwhile, is expanding at an exponential rate and, in the long term, it is the shipbuilders’ strategy to be building half of the world’s ships by 2050. They could be doing that long before then, some already believe.

The eight main shipping organizations said they have agreed the need to set up better self-policing and accident investigation procedures after the Erika pollution incident off France. A working group to review links in the chain of responsibility to prevent disasters like the Erika will be set up, the shipping organizations said. The 25 year old tanker Erika broke in two off France last December causing massive pollution to western French beaches after it spilled about 10,000 tons of its fuel oil cargo. The review would address issues of transparency, internal and external investigation procedures and accountability of industry self-policing, the organizations said. Weaknesses in all these elements of the industry have been criticized since the Erika sank.

Seasoned shipping men can be forgiven a smug smile or two this week as plummeting stocks have left share speculators reeling with the speed of their descent. Having reached record levels a week ago, both US and European shipping shares have come tumbling down this week, following warnings from US analysts on Monday. Amongst them are leading tanker companies like Frontline – down from almost $55 at last Friday’s close to just under $48 in New York at midday on Thursday this week. General Maritime was sharply down too, registering a fall of almost 14%, from over $40 to about $35. Other leading shares were sharply down too, including Teekay, Knightsbridge and Tsakos Energy Navigation in New York and P&O Nedlloyd, A.P.Moller-Maersk, Norden and Torm in Europe.

The eight main shipping organizations said on Friday they have agreed the need to set up better self policing and accident investigation procedures after the Erika pollution incident off France. A working group to review links in the chain of responsibility to prevent disasters like the Erika will be set up, the shipping organizations said. The 25-year-old tanker Erika broke in two off France last December causing massive pollution to western French beaches after it spilled about 10,000 tons of its fuel oil cargo. The review would address issues of transparency, internal and external investigation procedures and accountability of industry self-policing, the organizations said. Weaknesses in all these elements of the industry have been criticized since the Erika sank.