American Petroleum Tankers (APT), a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc., took delivery on 30th November of the 50,000dwt product tanker American Endurance, the first of four next generation ships. This delivery was the 25th vessel built by the Philly Shipyard (formerly known as Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc.). The tanker is based on a proven Hyundai Mipo Dockyards (HMD) design that also incorporates fuel efficiency features including flexible cargo capability. The vessel has already received LNG Ready Level 1 approval from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). The shipyard is constructing another three 50,000 dwt tankers for APT and two 3,600 TEU containerships for Matson Navigation Company, Inc.

China Navigation Company (CNCo), a deep sea shipping arm of the Swire Group, christened the Tunsin (above), the last of four Handysize bulk carrier newbuildings at Imabari Shipyard in Japan on 16th November 2016. The Tunsin is part of the four-vessel order placed in June 2014. The deliveries of the first three Imabari38 vessels, Taiyuan, Tientsin and Tsingtao, took place between July and October 2016. The company said that the christening of the Tunsin marked the completion of CNCo’s newbuilding program of 41 vessels which include 12 multipurpose vessels, 28 handysize bulk carriers and an 8,745gt cement carrier. The latter was named Aotearoa Chief in New Zealand on 15th October.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) held a naming ceremony for the 123,000gt Shinzan Maru, a newbuilding iron ore carrier, at Imabari Shipbuilding’s Hiroshima Shipyard on 27th October 2016. The new 215,790dwt, 320m long and 55m beam ship will sail under a long-term transport contract between MOL and Japanese steel manufacturer Kobe Steel. The company has also taken delivery of the 30,000gt and 186m long Cajun Sun, a 50,000dwt methanol carrier, from its compatriot shipbuilder Minaminippon Shipbuilding. Equipped with 2-stroke dual-fuel main engine capable of running on methanol, the Cajun Sun is the third vessel in a series of three eco-ships ordered in July 2015.

Stolt-Nielsen received unconditional competition authority approval in November for the company’s previously announced plans to acquire the chemical tanker operations of Jo Tankers. The acquisition was expected to be finalised by the end of November. The transaction comprises 13 chemical tankers and a 50% share in a joint venture with eight chemical tanker newbuildings, representing an enterprise value of $575 million. Stolt Tankers said the acquired ships would satisfy the tonnage-replacement needs of the company’s fleet for the coming years and add new trade routes that enhance the company’s global service capabilities.

FureTank’s chemicals and oil tanker Fure West, owned by the Swedish shipping company, was the first sea-going vessel to bunker with liquid natural gas (LNG) at Groene Kade in the Port of Amsterdam. The bunkering took place in the Amerikahaven, the designated location for safe truck-to-ship bunkering of LNG. The 11,701gt/2006 built ship was only recently converted to dual fuel operation.

Dalian Shipbuilding of China delivered the 162,542gt newbuild VLCC Coswisdom Lake in November. The 308,019dwt and 333m long/60m beam tanker has joined COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation’s fleet of over 100 vessels. The vessel has a capacity of 332,191m3 and departed Dalian on 12th November en-route to Singapore.

Concordia Maritime’s existing finance facility for its ten P-MAX ships will expire in June 2017. The company has now signed two separate and new agreements to refinance the ships. The total refinancing amount is $189 million. The first finance facility is arranged with a bank group consisting of Svenska Handelsbanken, BNP Paribas, DNB, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank. The facility is refinancing eight of the P-MAX ships and has a final maturity of five years, has a competitively priced margin and can be used to finance up to 67.5% of the ships fair market value. The facility has been co-ordinated by Handelsbanken Capital Markets. The second agreement is completed with Svenska Skeppshypotek. The facility is refinancing two of the P-MAX ships and has a final maturity of five years, has a competitively prices margin and can be used to finance up to 70% of the ships fair market value.

Scorpio Bulkers has secured employment for two of its Ultramax vessels and one Kamsarmax vessel. The 34,584gt/2015- built/61,000dwt SBI Leo and 34,835gt/2016- built/61,300dwt SBI Achilles, were chartered out for five to seven months at a rate of $9,000 and for six to eight months at a rate of $11,000 respectively. The Kamsarmax vessel is the 44,099gt/2014-built/82,999dwt SBI Cakewalk.

Nisshin Shipping’s rapid fleet reduction has continued apace. After placing a trio of Kamsarmaxes on the market in the autumn, the Japanese owner concluded a deal in November with Greece’s Transmed to sell all three en-bloc. The 45,955gt Mangan Trader I, Mangan Trader II and Mangan Trader III were sold for $16.75 million each. The 235m long ships, all built at Hyundai Samho in 2013, are the latest in Nisshin’s dramatic scaling back of its dry bulk fleet.