Yen News

Esgian reports shifts in demand in its Week 13 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report overview:ContractsADES has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from PTTEP Energy Development Company Limited for an 18-month jackup drilling contract in the Gulf of Thailand. Operations are expected to begin in the second half of 2024, with an unspecified jackup.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesThe Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for an exploration well in…

Norway's Havila Voyages announced it has appointed Mette Øyen as its new chief marketing officer and Aleksander Røynesdal has started in the role of new chief financial officer.Røynesdal was hired in December but officially entered his new role March 1. He comes from the position of COO at Norgas Carriers and has extensive experience in the finance and capital markets within the shipping and maritime transport industry.Øyen is scheduled to start in her new role on September 1, 2024.

NYK Line has ordered a crew transfer vessel (CTV) for offshore wind industry from Kosaba Shipbuilding Corporation, the first such order the company placed to a local Japanese shipyard.Following delivery in late 2025 or 2026, the vessel will be used to transport technicians to construct and maintain offshore wind power generation facilities offshore Japan.The vessels will be 28 meters long, and capable of accommodating 12 passengers.By expanding its fleet of CTVs, NYK aims to play an active role in promoting sustainable energy.

NYK and JERA have signed a long-term charter contract for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier to be built in South Korea by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.The vessel will be delivered in 2027 and will be used to transport LNG for JERA. The contract is expected to contribute to the stable supply of LNG in partnership with JERA and strengthen and promote NYK’s LNG business as a core business of the company.The vessel will be equipped with a next-generation X-DF2.2 iCER dual-fuel…

Vard, the Norwegian subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group, signed a contract for $200m to design and build a customized hybrid cable-laying vessel for Japan's Toyo Construction.The hybrid cable vessel will have a design specifically developed for custom needs to meet the growing Japanese offshore wind farm market and will also be able to operate worldwide. It will have an optimal hull design to suit natural and construction conditions in Japan, allowing it to be used in both shallow…

International energy companies, from Germany's RWE to Spain's Iberdrola, are urging Japan to beef up offshore wind power auctions and make investments more attractive, amid soaring installation costs as competition for suppliers grows worldwide.Although desperate to ease its heavy dependence on energy imports from the Middle East and Russia, Japan is coming late to offshore wind, but some industry players say it is taking a more cautious approach that puts it at a disadvantage."It's a global race and we can't look at it in isolation…

Japan will make sure its energy supplies are not affected by sanctions the United States recently imposed on the Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia in which it has a stake, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday.Japan, the world's second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, relies on LNG as a transition fuel before it reaches carbon neutrality in 2050, and has supply contracts and stakes in projects globally to guarantee imports.The Arctic LNG 2 project is to be launched next month…

Companies in Singapore will have to consider and manage any potential impact on their business activities, transactions, and customer relationships when dealing with Russian crude oil and refined products, a government official said on Friday.Russia's oil trade faces multiple restrictions imposed by the West and Moscow in the wake of the Ukraine war.The European Union has imposed bans on Russian crude and oil products imports while the Group of Seven nations, EU and Australia agreed to ban the use of Western-supplied maritime insurance, finance and brokering for seaborne Russian oil priced abo

In his annual New Years' address to employees, NYK President Hitoshi Nagasawa warned that while markets, particularly the containershipping market, will be more challenging in 2023 compared to the past two years, overall the group has "long anticipated that the strong tailwind would not last long," and in turn has "implemented structural reforms in the dry bulk business as well as cost reductions in various areas," to help ensure profitable operations.He cited the prolonged impact of COVID-19…

Japanese insurers are expected to continue providing marine war insurance which covers the sinking and requisition of ships due to war in Russian waters after Jan. 1, the Nikkei daily said on Thursday.Japan's Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance told shipowners last Friday that from Jan. 1 they would stop offering insurance coverage for ship damage caused by war in Russian waters, because reinsurers were withdrawing coverage.

Japan, the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, is facing its latest challenge in securing vital gas supplies from Russia after Western reinsurers said they would halt marine war insurance for ships travelling in Russian waters from Jan. 1.Having joined other G7 countries in imposing sweeping sanctions on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, Japan has been reducing its reliance on Russian oil and coal, but it continues to buy Russian LNG amid elevated prices in a tight…

Norway-based Kongsberg Digital (KDI) and Maritime Industry Authority in the Philippines (MARINA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). According to Kongsberg, the MOU represents a significant milestone for innovation and transformation in maritime training in the Philippines,"Kongsberg Digital’s suite of simulation systems provides efficient and realistic training for maritime students and crew so building vital skills promoting safety, cost-efficiency, and sustainability in operations at sea.

Concordia Maritime announced on Wednesday it has entered into an agreement for the sale of the 158,000 dwt Suezmax tanker Stena Supreme. Delivery is expected in June 2022.The 2012-built Stena Supreme has been bareboat chartered in by Concordia Maritime since 2016, under a sale and leaseback arrangement, from "one of Japan’s largest shipping companies", Concordia Maritime said. The contract contains annual purchase options, which Concordia Maritime has now elected to exercise.The vessel has been employed in the spot market through the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool, and its sale will have a positive liquidity effect of approximately $4 million…

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) said Wednesday recently signed a fleet agreement to provide its vessel-to-cloud infrastructure, Vessel Insight to over 100 vessels. Kongsberg did not say who the client was exactly, apart from saying it was a large industrial shipowner in the tanker segment."We are very proud to announce that we recently signed a major deal to digitalize a large industrial shipowner in the tanker segment, with a  fleet agreement exceeding one hundred vessels. This is a good example of digitalization as a crucial step on the journey towards greener…

Japan's Asahi Tanker said it will start using the world's first electric-powered tanker for ship fuelling, known as bunkering, later this month in an effort to cut carbon emissions.Japan, which is the world's fifth-biggest CO2 emitter, aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, while the global shipping industry, which relies on oil to power its vessels, is trying to speed up efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases."The vessel's core energy system is completely electrified to achieve zero emissions of CO2…

The Biden administration recently issued a sweeping Executive Order [1] aimed at protecting and enhancing competition, and the transportation sector—including air, ocean, and rail—is among the industries specifically identified and likely to see heightened antitrust scrutiny under the new directives. This executive action was soon followed by the long-awaited announcement of Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division), Jonathan Kanter, who…

A potential invasion of Ukraine by neighboring Russia would be felt across a number of markets, from wheat and energy prices and the region's sovereign dollar bonds to safe have assets.Below are four charts showing where a potential escalation of tensions could be felt across global markets:Safe havensInflation at multi-decade highs and impending interest rate rises have made for a bad month for bond markets, but an outright Russia-Ukraine conflict could change that.Two-year U.S.

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) signed a contract with Singapore-based transshipment company Rocktree to provide its Vessel Insight technology for the Supramax size Bulk carrier modified to an Offshore Floating Terminal (OFT) RT LEO. Together with the Vessel Insight Customer Success team, Rocktree plans to develop dashboards to measure cargo moved in tons/hour, fuel consumption, monitor emissions and benchmark its vessels.“Historically, the Bulk carrier segment has been a bit slow in terms of digitalization compared to Tankers and Offshore…

Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries said on Thursday it aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its domestic factories and offices in 2030 by using electricity generated by a 100 megawatts (MW) hydrogen-fueled power plant it plans to build.The company is trying to make hydrogen a key growth driver by building liquefied hydrogen carriers, hydrogen power stations and other facilities to create a global supply chain of the fuel that may help decarbonize industries and aid the global energy transition.Kawasaki aims to transport 225…

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) announced it has signed partner agreement with the Northeast Maritime Institute (NMI) based in Massachusetts USA. This is the first partner agreement signed with a maritime eLearning provider and includes the delivery of a range of K-Sim cloud-based simulation applications for NMI global online students.NMI's dynamic learning management system delivers a wide range of courses online, reaching mariners across the globe. The online maritime education, training, examination and certification portal is known as Northeast Maritime Online (NEMO°).

Dutch offshore installation and construction firm Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has renewed its Long-Term System Support Program (LTSSP) contract with Kongsberg Digital for another five years.The LTSSP is in support of a K-Sim Offshore Crane simulation system, which features digital twins of HMC’s semi-submersible construction vessels, ships, and barges. HMC’s simulation center is located at the HMC headquarters in Leiden, the Netherlands."Renewal of the LTSSP ensures Kongsberg Digital’s continued commitment to maintaining Heerema’s simulators at the leading edge of available technology…

Offshore vessel operator Rem Offshore has selected Vessel Insight from Kongsberg Digital to collect vital data from its three new offshore wind vessels, currently under construction.The first vessel will be completed at Green Yard Kleven in November, while the other two are under construction at Vard, with completion in 2023 and 2024, respectively.By installing the infrastructure service Vessel Insight, Rem Offshore will collect data from the vessels and enable the use of applications to optimize operations. "An important part of the delivery is two applications from Kongsberg Maritime.

Nippon Yusen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Japan's biggest and third-biggest shipping companies, reported record quarterly profits as they benefited from higher freight rates amid the chaos hitting global supply chains.The logjams and bottlenecks in the world's trade system, which threatens to derail a recovery from the worst health crisis in a century, has provided a bonanza to such companies as freight rates soared to the highest since 2008. "Port and inland congestion did not improve due to a shortage of drivers for inland haulage…