Oil Tanker News

A Norwegian navy frigate that collided with an oil tanker last week was almost completely submerged on Tuesday despite efforts to salvage the sinking vessel, pictures taken by the Norwegian Coastal Administration showed.The ship's plight off the Norwegian coast is, however, not disrupting the nearby Sture crude oil export terminal. "We are in normal operations," said a spokeswoman for the plant's operator, Equinor.The Norwegian military has been working since Thursday to salvage the ship by tethering it with several cables to the shore.

A U.S. Navy led team has removed 229,000 gallons of oil from a sunken World War II era German heavy cruiser that has been resting on the seafloor near the Marshall Islands for more than 70 years.After being transferred to the U.S. as a war prize, the cruiser Prinz Eugen was loaded with oil and cargo and used to assess survivability of warships during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests in the Pacific. The ship survived two atomic blasts before being towed to Kwajalein Atoll…

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) survey and inspection firm Cyberhawk has completed the first full ABS Intermediate Hull Survey 4 on an oil tanker using UAVs.Cyberhawk performed full class inspection across 19 tanks on board an oil tanker while at a shipyard in Singapore. This included 12 Cargo Oil Tanks (COT), two slop tanks and five ballast tanks. Attending was the American Bureau for Shipping (ABS) to ensure the quality of the inspection complied with the specific ABS rules (ESP) set for tankers.

The large-capacity Aframax tanker "Gagarin Prospect", owned by Russia's SCF Group,  successfully implementated  construction and operation commencement  using LNG as the primary fuel.Konstantin G. Palnikov, Director General of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, participated in a protocol event dedicated to this project.This pioneered the expansion of LNG fuel into the global shipping industry, for large-capacity ships not tied to fixed routes or set timetables.The specialized LNG bunkering ship Cardissa…

Some Russian ships have stopped transporting cargo to Ukraine, deeming it risky after a Russian tanker was detained in a Ukrainian port as Kiev made good on sanctions against Moscow, two sources at shipowners said.It is the latest fallout from Russia's annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 and the emergence of a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine.The Mekhanik Pogodin oil tanker, under the Russian flag, has been moored in the port of Kherson since Aug. 10, Reuters ship…

A Maersk product tanker has become the third commercially operating vessel to be equipped with Norsepower Rotor Sail auxiliary wind propulsion technology.Two Rotor Sails have been installed on board the 109,647- DWT Long Range 2 (LR2) product tanker Maersk Pelican in the Port of Rotterdam, announced project partners Norsepower Oy Ltd., Maersk Tankers, Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and Shell Shipping & Maritime. The ship is expected to commence its first voyage with its new sails shortly.At 30 meters tall by five meters, the Rotor Sails aboard Maersk Pelican are the largest in the world.

Norway has been forced to close the Sture Oil Terminal near Bergen and has started closing down the nearby Kollsness gas-and-condensate terminal — a lifeline of heating gas to Europe — after an early morning collision between a $440-million frigate and an oil tanker.The frigate Helge Ingstad, now listing heavily to its port side, is loaded with torpedoes and weapons systems said to be unstable as a result of the collision. Eight navy personnel are said to be injured, including two flown to regional hospital…

An oil tanker and a Norwegian navy frigate collided off Norway's west coast on Thursday, injuring eight people and triggering the temporary shutdown of a North Sea crude export terminal, Norway's top gas processing plant and several offshore fields.The frigate, which recently took part in a major NATO military exercise, was aground and tilting on one side, live television pictures showed. The Norwegian military was attempting to save the ship."We are working on stabilizing the vessel…

The acquisition of Gener8 resulted in the recognition of a gain on bargain purchase on business combination of USD 36.3 million being recorded in the consolidated statement of profit or loss in the second quarter, says Euronav.The largest NYSE listed independent crude oil tanker company in the world said that it booked a gain on bargain purchase as a result of the Net Assets acquired being higher than the consideration paid.Paddy Rodgers, CEO of Euronav said: "Completion of the…

CEO says increasingly upbeat on tanker profits. OPEC cuts, Iran sanctions may impact tanker demand.Frontline, one of the world's largest oil tanker firms, posted a surprise third-quarter profit on Friday, helped by rising rates for its fleet.The Oslo-listed shipper, controlled by billionaire investor John Fredriksen, said the outlook was improving due to rising global demand for crude after a lengthy downturn for shippers."We are increasingly optimistic that the tanker market will generate profits going forward," Chief Executive Robert Hvide Macleod told an investor call.Net earnings for July to September swung to a profit of $2.2 million from a $24.1 million loss in the same period last year.Adjusted for one-off gains…

Nimble and quick, unmanned aerial vehicles have evolved into a valuable tool for marine and offshore applications.When a U.S. oil tanker conducts a Critical Area Inspection Plan (CAIP) as required by ABS, it is an onerous process. For example, each tank requires seven days of set up with scaffolding and staging. An ABS inspector and UDT technicians must access, and be carefully lowered into the tank with instrumentation and tools. Inspection points in far reaching places are surveyed.

A Shipping Corporation of India very large crude carrier (VLCC) has suffered an explosion in one of its cargo tanks while transiting off the coast of Oman, the shipowner confirmed Tuesday.Three crew members of the 316,409 DWT oil tanker Desh Vaibhav are reported missing, and one person with burn injuries has been evacuated by helicopter, according to a press release issued by the shipowner.The 2005-built Desh Vaibhav was sailing toward Fujairah, UAE when the blast occurred around 9:35 a.m. IST, the shipowner said.

A.P. Moller-Maersk will merge Damco Supply Chain Services and Maersk Line's Ocean Product, the Danish shipping giant announced on Wednesday, as it seeks to offer customers the chance to deal with one firm when shipping goods across the world.The operator of Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping company, kicked off a restructuring drive in 2016 that saw it sell its oil and gas business last year to focus on transport and logistics business.Maersk said its latest change would take effect on January 1…

The crude oil tanker company operating a fleet of crude oil tankers in the VLCC, Suezmax and Aframax segments, DHT Holdings announced that it has secured commitment to a $50 million financing for its earlier publicized scrubber retrofit project, subject to final documentation.The financing is structured through an increase of the existing $300 million secured credit facility entered into in the second quarter of 2017. The increased facility will bear the same interest rate equal…

Ship owners accelerated installations of engine emissions cleaning systems this year ahead of stringent new rules in 2020 which sharply reduce the amount of sulphur ships can emit from the 3.5 percent in current bunker fuel to 0.5 percent, according to a report.Vessel operators can either switch to cleaner, but more expensive, marine gasoil or install scrubbers to filter sulphur from dirtier fuel oil.The looming change in International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules has impacted…

Significant moments in naval architecture & marine engineeringIn March 1989, oil tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil after running aground in Alaska's Prince Williams Sound. The oil spill stood as the largest in U.S. history until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.The Exxon Valdez incident, while certainly not a bright spot in maritime history, led to broad changes across the industry, including new design requirements for oil-carrying vessels.The October 2018 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News…

The crude oil tanker company operating a fleet of crude oil tankers in the VLCC, Suezmax and Aframax segments, DHT Holdings has reached agreements to exchange existing convertible notes due 2019.DHT Holdings has entered into separate, privately negotiated exchange agreements with certain holders of its outstanding 4.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2019  to exchange approximately $67.5 million aggregate principal amount of the Existing Notes for approximately $74.2 million aggregate principal amount of the Company's new 4.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2021.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim visited the Islamic Republic of Iran to participate  in a ceremony to commemorate seafarers who lost their lives aboard the Iranian-owned oil tanker Sanchi earlier this year.He visited Iran also to participate in the country's national celebration of World Maritime Day (8 September) and met met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif.Early this year, he issued a statement sympathizing with victims of Iranian vessel collision near China shore.Sanchi…

Philippine-based Chelsea Logistics Holdings (CLC), wholly owned subsidiary of Udenna Corporation, added two new ships to the company’s existing fleet of 83 as part of its expansion program.CLC  inaugurated the M/T Chelsea Providence and M/V Salve Regina at the Manila North Harbour Port, the two vessels that CLC bought with  an investment worth around $50 million.Manila Standard quoted CLC founder and chairman Dennis Uy as saying that his company has  long dreamed of having its…

A tanker vessel with 19 crew members on board, most of them Georgians, has gone missing in pirate-plagued waters off Gabon in West Africa and no word has been heard from it for a week, the ship's managers and the crew agency said on Wednesday.Communication was lost with the Panama-registered Pantelena at about 2 a.m. local time on Aug. 14, at which time it was about 17 miles from the port of Libreville, in Gabon, Athens-based Lotus Shipping said in a statement.The head of the Georgian crew agency Ialkani, Anzhela Oganesyan, said two Russian nationals and 17 Georgians were aboard the tanker.

Art Regan, who has been the Executive Chairman at Genco Shipping and Trading (NYSE: GNK) since October 2016, personifies the new type of shipping executive, savvy on all things maritime (he is a graduate of SUNY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler) coupled with a keen understanding of market dynamics. Regan commenced his maritime industry career at sea, rising through the shipboard officer ranks completing as a Master Mariner during a more than ten-year period sailing on oil tankers and dry bulk vessels.

A tanker caught fire at the Gadani shipbreaking beach that holds a deplorable record of life threatening accidents on 11 October.Fortunately, no casualties were recorded. Only a few days later, on 14 October, yet another oil tanker named KRITI (IMO 9270737) caught fire, this time injuring seven workers, three of which are in a critical condition.The Platform has reported a series of accidents following the catastrophic explosion that killed at least 29 workers and injured 58 on the 1st of November 2016. Since then, there have been at least five more fires caused by unsafe cutting operations.

The development that saw no U.S. seaborne exports of crude oil to China in August has continued into September, according to BIMCO. This is despite crude oil not being a part of the ‘official trade war’.“The trade war between the U.S. and China is now impacting trade in both tariffed and some un-tariffed goods with both countries looking elsewhere for alternative buyers and sellers,” said Peter Sand, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst.“Ton mile demand generated by total U.S. crude oil exports has risen 17 percent from August to September…