Astomos Energy Corporation’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier newbuild Laurel Prime was named on 13th December at Japan’s Mitsubishi Shipbuilding shipyard. The new 83,000m³/ 48,300dwt and 47,963gt ship will be the seventh vessel of its type built for Astomos Energy. Completion and delivery of the 230m long/36.60m beam vessel, which will be operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), was scheduled for the end of December, 2018.

Babcock Schulte Energy’s new 8,070gt/2018 built Kairos, the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel, began operations in Northwest Europe on 11th December 2018. Chartered by Blue LNG, a joint venture of the Hamburg-based LNG supplier Nauticor (90% share) and the Lithuanian energy infrastructure provider KN (10% share), the ship was handed over by owner Babcock Schulte Energy in the port of Klaipeda. The construction of the vessel started in 2016 when the joint venture signed a time-charter agreement with Babcock Schulte Energy. In February 2018, steel cutting took place at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Ulsan, South Korea, and in October 2018 the vessel was delivered by the shipyard. With a tank capacity of 7,500m³, the ice class vessel also features the ballast-free design and installation of a CNG tank to store vapour return gas from vessels that she bunkers.

Blue Planet Shipping’s 36,452gt/2018 built Ultramax bulk carrier Afros (above), which was fitted with an Anemoi Flettner Rotor system, was named ‘Ship of the Year’ at the Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards 2018. The 64,000dwt newbuild is the first geared dry bulk carrier to be equipped with Flettner Rotors and the installation includes four rotors which reduce vessel fuel consumption at sea and, when in port, can be moved along the deck clear of cargo handling gear, preventing any impact on port operations. The SDARI-designed vessel, which was built by China’s Jiangsu Haitong Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd. and delivered in January 2018, is fitted with a Ship Energy Efficiency Management System consisting of variable frequency drives for primary pumps and fans, reducing onboard power needs. The Flettner Rotor system, designed and installed by British company Anemoi Marine Technologies, utilises the aerodynamic phenomenon known as the Magnus Effect to provide useful propulsion to the vessel by harnessing wind power to enhance vessel efficiency, reducing net fuel consumption and lowering harmful exhaust emissions.

BW Group of Bermuda has sold a fleet of 13 chemical tankers to Ace Tankers Management BV. The deal was finalised in December 2018 between BW Chemicals Pte. Ltd. and Ace Tankers Management BV. Once acquired the ships are intended to join the Ace-Quantum Chemical Tankers (AQCT) Pool, a joint venture between Ace Tankers and Eastern Pacific Shipping. The AQCT Pool currently manages a fleet of over 20 stainless steel 19,900dwt chemical tankers.

The Cool Company is the operating name of a new ship-owning entity being formed by three prominent LNG shipping companies to form a pool of 16 vessels built 2013-2015. The companies involved are Golar LNG (ten vessels), Awilco LNG (two 156,000m³ ships) and TMS Cardiff Gas (four 2014-built 160,000m³ vessels). Dynagas had been identified as a member of The Cool Company but this did not materialise.

DS Norden has conducted the world’s first commercial test voyage of a vessel powered by carbon-neutral bio-fuel. The ship, the 23,304gt/2007 built Nord Highlander, sailed from Rotterdam to Tallinn using fuel supplied by Good Fuels. One of the key benefits of this fuel type is that ships do not require modifications to their fuel tanks to use the bio-fuel that is derived from food oil.

Fehn Ship Management GmbH & Co. KG’s 2,844gt/1997 built general cargo vessel Fehn Pollux had an EcoFlettner rotor sail installed in July on the bow as a trial and in December the results were revealed as having exceeded the expectations of the scientists. The whole wind propulsion trials project is being funded by the EU and co-ordinated by Mariko in Leer, The Netherlands. The rotor is 18m high and has a 3m diameter. After lengthy test runs ashore, the rotor is being tested aboard the 90m multipurpose freighter and monitored by The University of Applied Sciences with data recorded including precise thrust measurements for a Flettner rotor. In excess of 50 different forms of data are continuously collected and computed in real time by the Flettner control system on the bridge and the computer uses the data to calculate the optimum settings for the rotor under the current conditions.

Höegh LNG Holdings Ltd. (Höegh LNG) took delivery of the Hoegh Gannet, its ninth floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), in December. The Höegh Gannet has a regasification capacity of 1 Bcf per day and a storage capacity of 170,000m³ of LNG, making it the largest FSRU built in terms of capacity. The unit has been constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and is equipped with a reinforced GTT Mark III membrane containment system and dual-fuel diesel electric (DFDE) propulsion. The vessel is part of HLNG’s ongoing tender processes for FSRU projects with a scheduled start-up in 2019-21. For the interim period between delivery and start-up under a long-term contract, it will serve an LNGC charter with Naturgy, which starts immediately after the positioning voyage from the shipyard. This contract runs for 15 months, under which the Höegh Gannet will earn a fixed day charter rate.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) 30,962gt/2019 built newbuild methanol carrier Castara was christened at a naming ceremony hosted by the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) shipyard on 27th November. The naming was undertaken by Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Limited, which together with Proman Shipping, are part of Switzerland-based natural gas provider Proman Group, the vessel’s charterer. The 186.7m MR2 combination tanker which can also transport petrochemical products was ordered by MOL in 2015 and was scheduled to be delivered to the owners in January 2019.

Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) of Japan has approached South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to build two new LNG carriers following a long-term charter deal signed with France’s Total subsidiary Total Gas & Power Chartering. The pair of 174,000m³ capacity membrane-type tank LNG tankers carries a value of $360 million and both are scheduled for delivery in 2021. The two ships will be equipped with a WinGD-made fuel slow-speed diesel engine that has fuel consumption efficiency and can operate on marine gas oil or boil-off gas stored in the cargo tank. The carriers will also feature a re-liquefaction system that can use surplus boil-off gas effectively.

Thun Tankers’ newbuild Thun Evolve (4,936gt/2019 built) was launched on 15th December in Groningen, The Netherlands. The ship will be long-term leased by Preem upon delivery in March for deliveries to the company’s depots and customers in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Sinotrans & CSC Nanjing Tanker have ordered two 49,700dwt, 183m long, 32m beam and 18.3m hull depth crude oil tankers with an option for four more at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI).

The vessels are due for delivery in two years and Nanjing Tanker had previously taken delivery of four tankers at GSI in June 2018 which were ordered in 2015.