Chemical Tanker News

Insufficient Training, Inadequate Bridge Operating Procedures, Lack of Operational Oversight Led to Fatal Ship Collision. The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that the Aug. 21, 2017, collision between the USS John S McCain and the tanker Alnic MC was caused by insufficient training, inadequate bridge operating procedures and a lack of operational oversight.Ten sailors aboard the John S McCain died in the accident and 48 were injured when the ships collided in the Middle Channel passage of the Singapore Strait Traffic Separation Scheme.

Bergen-headquartered shipping company Utkilen said it has taken delivery of Mostraum, the LNG-ready 10,500 DWT chemical tanker.The vessel is stainless steel tanker and is a very environmentally friendly design with focus on low fuel consumption, reduced NOx emissions and to prepare her for possible future upgrades of fuel with the installed LNG ready engine, claimed a press release.Shore power is installed with a capacity enough to handle loading and unloading. The high loading…

Danish Shipowner Nordic Shipholding entered a new sale and purchase memorandum of agreement to dispose Nordic Ruth vessel, which the company didn't manage to sell, in the past.Nordic Ruth is a 2000-built handysize product/chemical tanker. It tanker would be sold for USD 5.8 million.Nordic Shipholding A/S does not expect the sale to have any significant impact on the outlook for 2019 as provided in the Q1 2019 Report on 22 May 2019.The vessel was built in 2005, and is a 35,800…

Canada’s marine services provider McKeil Marine Limited has acquired Topaz, an IMO 2, ice class 1A chemical tanker.With this newest addition to its diversified fleet of tugs, barges, workboats and vessels, including bulkers, cement carriers, and tankers, McKeil expands its offering and is poised for additional growth.The Panamanian-flagged Topaz built in 2009, measures 137 metres by 20 metres, with a DWT of 13,965 metric tonnes. The vessel was acquired to service the needs of McKeil’s customer Petro-Canada Lubricants Inc.

The chemical tanker market saw continued improvements into what normally is a seasonally weaker first quarter, said Odfjell Group, a company specialising in worldwide seaborne transportation and storage of chemicals and other speciality bulk liquids.Strong exports from the US and Middle East were key drivers in this quarter which also impacted other trade lanes as well. There was less supply pressure from swing tonnage during the quarter, but we experienced some increased competition…

The MR (Medium Range Product Carrier) product and chemical tanker market continues its upward trend, with charter rates higher in the first quarter on the back of continued strengthening supply-demand fundamentals and further supported by prolonged winter market conditions.According to Anthony Gurnee, the Company's Chief Executive Officer of Ardmore Shipping Corporation this trend is in spite of heavy refinery maintenance and upgrade downtime as the global refinery complex prepares for the IMO 2020 marine fuel transition…

First dual-fuel sister Aframaxes owned by AET, a unit of the Malaysian shipping giant MISC, have completed their maiden ship-to-ship (STS) LNG bunkering.The petroleum and chemical tanker owner announced in a press release that Eagle Brasilia and Eagle Bintulu have successfully completed their STS LNG bunkering at the Port of Rotterdam (POR).The latest in AET’s eco-friendly innovation towards a sustainable industry solution that meets IMO’s 2050 goal, this is their first call to…

Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co, ship repair and manufacturing company in Japan, has delivered its first long-range-one (LRI) (77,000 DWT) Product/Chemical Tanker."This first ship was constructed at Tsuineishi Group (Zhoushan) Shipbuilding, Inc., the Group’s shipbuilding site in China," said a press statement.The new LRI Product/Chemical Tanker was built to address the rising global demand for petroleum and chemical products.It fulfills the requirements of MR Product/Chemical Tankers that are used mainly to transport such products…

Top Ships Inc, which owns and operates tanker vessels worldwide, said that it took delivery of the 50,000 dwt newbuilding product/chemical tanker M/T Eco Marina Del Ray.According to the international owner and operator of modern, fuel efficient "ECO" tanker vessels currently focusing on the transportation of petroleum products, Eco Marina Del Ray is constructed at the Hyundai Mipo shipyard in South Korea.The Greece-based company also said that the vessel is scheduled to commence its five-year charter employment with Cargill on March 18…

On August 18, 1990, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was enacted into law. Section 4202 of that Act amended the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA or Clean Water Act) to require tank vessels and marine transportation-related facilities to prepare and submit to the US Coast Guard plans for responding, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worse case discharge, and to a substantial threat of such a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance carried in bulk as cargo.

The 570-foot Singapore-flagged chemical & oil tanker Bow Mariner sank 15 years ago when the ship caught fire and sustained two explosions, resulting in the deaths of 21 out of 27 crew members, 45-miles off the coast of Virginia, Feb. 28, 2004.The vessel was transporting over three million gallons of ethyl alcohol on a voyage from New York to Texas. It had previously carried methyl tert-butyl ether, MTBE, in its other 22 cargo tanks that were discharged in New York.The cause of…

Japanese shipping giant MOL's Chemical Tankers unit has agreed to take full control of Triton-owned Nordic Tankers. The deal expected to close in February 2019.Denmark-based Nordic Tankers said in a press release that its current sole shareholder Triton agreed to sell and deliver 100% of shares to MOL Chemical Tankers (MOLCT) and MOLCT buys and takes delivery of 100% of shares of NT from Triton, in each case together with all rights attached to them on and with effect from the…

Japanese shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK)  has secured a green loan of JPY 2 billion (USD 18.04 million) to finance the construction of its first methanol-fueled chemical tanker set for delivery in 2019."A green loan is a loan whose proceeds are used solely for the purpose of funding environment-friendly projects. NYK will continue to take steps for the development and use of technology linked to environmental performance by proactively promoting green finance, said a press release from the company.This green loan has been certified by Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd.

The US-based chemical tanker company  Ardmore Shipping Corporation announced that Reginald L. Jones is stepping down as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company effective December 31, 2018. Curtis McWilliams has been appointed as Chairman of the Board effective January 1, 2019, said a stock exchange announcement from the company.Jones will remain as a director until the Company's annual general meeting in 2019, when he does not intend to stand for re-election. He is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Greenbriar Equity Group LLC…

Danish shipping company Nordic Tankers, Dania Ship Management and Danfoss IXA have been cooperating on testing new innovative technology for monitoring emissions on an ongoing basis.The chemical tanker company hailed that the result is a front runner solution to ensure global enforcement of the IMO’s requirements for sulphur emissions way before any legislation is pushed through.“The sensor equipment from Danfoss IXA is an innovative piece of technology that enables ship owners to continuously prove compliance with the IMO’s requirements for sulphur emissions.

Swedish shipping company Sirius Shipping Sirius Shipping has taken delivery of its first 7999-dwt LNG-ready oil/chemical tanker Saturnus from the Avic  Dingheng Shipyard  in China.The Backman family- founded company said in a press release that the work to develop the Evolution concept started six years ago with the purpose to develop a vessel design where the entire underwater body, hull, rudder and propeller would be designed and chosen to obtain the best possible hydrodynamic…

Odfjell SE has reported its results for Third Quarter 2018. The results reflect a stable chemical tanker market and stable underlying results from Odfjell Terminals when adjusting for the Rotterdam terminal.Odfjell SE reports EBITDA of USD 32 million compared with USD 37 million in the previous quarter.Highlights for the third quarter of 2018:• EBITDA of USD 27 million from Odfjell Tankers compared to USD 28 million in second quarter• ODFIX was down 2.0% for the quarter compared…

Greece-based ship-owning company TOP Ships announced that it has agreed a new time charter employment contract for 2 years with BP Shipping Ltd for its product/chemical tanker M/T Eco Revolution.The international owner and operator of modern, fuel efficient “ECO” tanker vessels currently focusing on the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products, said in a press release that the new time charter will commence in January 2019 immediately after the expiry of the present…

Product and chemical tanker operator Ardmore Shipping has chosen SEDNA as its new email management and team collaboration platform for their global commercial desks, including operations, chartering and commercial finance teams.According to Ha Eun Ruppelt, Ardmore Shipping’s Commercial Project Manager, the decision to choose SEDNA began with the organization’s commitment to achieving the same high standards of efficiency and operational performance in its commercial activities…

ABS released new guidance and software to assist chemical tanker owners, operators and shipyards: the ABS Guide for Materials and Welding for Stainless Steels and ABS CHEM software.The ABS Guide for Materials and Welding for Stainless Steels provides minimum requirements for properties, manufacturing processes and fabrication techniques applicable to common types of stainless steels used in the marine and offshore industries. This new guidance is particularly relevant to construction…

Security guards aboard a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship repelled an attack by pirates in a gunbattle off Somalia's coast this week, the European naval force in the region said on Friday.It was only the second reported attempt by Somali pirates to seize a commercial ship this year, after a resurgence of attacks in 2017 following years of relative calm brought about by regular patrols of the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVOR).On Tuesday, pirates approached and opened fire at the Hong Kong-flagged MV KSL Sydney freighter 340 nautical miles off Somalia…

Petroleum and chemical tanker owner and operator  AET Tankers has named and welcomed its first LNG dual-fuelled aframax vessels, Eagle Brasilia and Eagle Bintulu.According to a press release of the Singapore-based company, the ceremony for the vessels was held at the Samsung Heavy Industry Co Ltd’s (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea. Both vessels have been taken on long-term charterby Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (Shell), primarily for operations in the Atlantic Basin…

Golden-Agri Stena, a joint venture between Sweden based tanker shipping company Stena Bulk and Indonesia’s largest palm oil producer Golden Agri-Resources, has started a new joint venture with Japan's Bay Crest Management for the the operation and commercial management of chemical tankers.The new joint venture, GSB Tankers, will commence operation on January 1, 2019, managing 18 chemical tankers to start, with the aim of managing 30 vessels within the next two years.The joint venture will operate out of the existing premises of Golden-Agri Stena.