Oil Tanker News

Belgium's crude oil tanker company Euronav NV announced that it has sold the Suezmax vessel Felicity (2009 – 157,667 dwt) to a global supplier and operator of offshore floating platforms.The vessel has been delivered to her new owners and will be converted into an FPSO and therefore leave the worldwide trading fleet.The buyer's name and financial terms are not disclosed. However, the NYSE-listed company revealed that a capital loss on the sale of approximately USD 3.0 million will be recorded in Q4 2018.The cash generated on this transaction after repayment of debt will be USD 21.1 million…

An oil tanker caught fire in Hong Kong's southern waters on Tuesday, killing one crew member while at least 21 were rescued, police said, with witnesses reporting a loud blast that shook windows several kilometers away.Rescue operations were going on about one nautical mile south of Lamma Island."There are still some crew that haven't been saved," a police spokeswoman told Reuters. She was not immediately able to provide more details including the name of the tanker, or its size.A…

VLCC owner DHT Holdings announced that its Co-CEOs have relocated to Singapore. The relocation follows changes in the tax law in Norway from 2019 for tax residency of companies formed outside of Norway.The crude oil tanker company said that the new legislation takes into account the place of daily management as well as the place of management and control on board level. The Company's tax residency will remain unchanged in Bermuda.The Company's office in Singapore will hold senior management…

Florida-based oil tanker operator  Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) has entered into a Bareboat Charter Party Agreement with the owner of the vessel known as the Oregon Voyager.The provider of energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products in the U.S. Flag markets said in a press release that it will rename the 1999-built U.S. flagged product tanker the Overseas Key West and intends to use this vessel in the U.S. coastwise trade under the Jones Act.The Bareboat Charter extends for 10 years, into 2029.

Bermuda-based crude oil tanker company DHT Holdings plans to fit exhaust gas cleaning systems on two thirds of its very large crude carriers (VLCCs) to comply with the impending 2020 sulphur cap.The oil tanker owner-operator said that the retrofit program encompass 16 ships built between 2004 and 2012, representing the ships within our fleet that stands to gain the greatest economic benefits. Additionally, the two newbuildings delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries this year had scrubbers installed…

Russia's new far eastern Zvezda shipyard has cancelled a tender to import key parts for a crude oil tanker from South Korea's Hyundai, RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing a database of state purchases.Kommersant newspaper had reported that Zvezda issued a tender to import a stern, bow sections an anchors for an Aframax crude oil tanker ordered by Rosneft despite an earlier plan to construct the tanker at the shipyard.The Zvezda shipyard, which is being built by a consortium of oil giant Rosneft…

Maersk Rosyth, the Handysize vessel, has been on time charter with an ExxonMobil marine affiliate for 15 years and has recently completed her 1,000th voyage, demonstrating Maersk Tankers' long-term relationship with the customer."A voyage Maersk Rosyth has done 1,000 times over the past 15 years, Rotterdam to Port Jerome and back, as part of a time charter agreement between an ExxonMobil affiliate and Maersk Tankers," said a press statement from the oil tanker company.A time charter agreement commenced in 1999 and since then…

Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. (KOTC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has ordered three giant liquefied petroleum gas tankers (LPG) from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the South Korean shipbuilding giant.According to the government's media outlet Kuwait New Agency (KUNA), the order for very large gas carrier (VLGC) is worth KD 64.8 million (around USD 213.3 million).KUNA quoted CEO of KOTC Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah as saying that the VLGC-LPG gas tankers are part of a tanker-building contract signed with HHI…

As the cost inflation is set to accelerate on higher insurance premiums, average vessel operating costs rose modestly for the second year in succession following two years of marked declines, according to the latest report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.The report titled 'Ship Operating Costs Annual Review and Forecast 2018/19' said that typical ship operating costs accelerated moderately in 2018 as the uncertain recovery in freight markets across most cargo sectors gained momentum.Opex costs are heavily linked to developments in the wider shipping market as some costs…

The six activists who were detained for 33 hours on board a shipment carrying dirty palm oil into Europe have been released by Spanish authorities in Algeciras.The Greenpeace International volunteers climbed onto the Stolt Tenacity tanker at dawn on Saturday, and delayed its journey from Indonesia to The Netherlands for almost two days.The climbers were protesting a 185-metre long cargo loaded with palm oil products from Wilmar, the biggest palm oil trader in the world, which…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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.

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…

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 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…