Sinochem Shipping News

Odfjell SE said it has signed Framework Agreement with Sinochem Shipping Singapore Pte. Ltd whereby the Norwegian ship owner will take four vessels on long-term bareboat charter and together form a pool of eight 40,900 dwt chemical tankers. The four chemical tankers are part of Sinochem’s series of eight ordered from Hantong Wing Shipyard in China. Sinochem will retain ownership of the series’ four other vessels, which together with the bareboat vessels will form a pool managed by Odfjell SE and trading as part of the Odfjell Tankers fleet.

China’s Sinochem International Logistics, a leading chemical tanker owner and operator with 80 vessels, is implementing DNV GL’s data smart fleet management system ShipManager on the entire fleet, optimizing operations and improving performance and efficiency. The contract was signed in April at the opening of DNV GL’s newbuilt near-zero-emission Green Office Centre in Shanghai, with the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in attendance, in addition to two of her cabinet members. DNV GL - Software CEO Are Føllesdal Tjønn and Sinochem International Logistics Vice General Manager Zhang Xin signed the contract at the ceremony. “We are proud to be partnering with Sinochem, an innovative and growing shipping company in Asia,” said Tjønn.

The surge in fleet size – up almost 4 million gt from last year – has been driven largely by 2007’s healthy newbuilding market and includes a wide range of vessels including bulk carriers and tankers (to be built according to IACS Common Structural Rules), containerships, VLOCs and PCTCs. “We’ve been focusing on international growth and the Chinese market has been a particular target. We’ve expanded our resources in China to provide a wide-range of technical support to the local shipyards and opened two additional Chinese branch offices in Nanjing and Ningbo. As a result, of the 143 new KR-classed vessels being build outside Korea, 69 are to be built in China.