In this issue: Hyundai provides a quarter of total world ship building capacity; DNV issued EEDI verification for KOTC-owned VLCC; LNG/C IMO: Full-Scale Sloshing Measurement Project
Text and photos: Magne A. Røe, except where otherwise stated.
Date: 2011-06-15
The tanker market has always faced challenges and opportunities. That is part of the game. Today the picture may seem more complex than usual.
The Hyundai group of shipyards has the combined capacity to produce 200 new vessels per year. Basically, that means a ship naming ceremony every other working day.
When the 117050 tdw tanker SCF Baltica arrived safely at the Chinese port of Ningbo with 70,000 tonnes of gas condensate on board, a path-breaking voyage from Murmansk through the Northern Sea Route had been completed. The vessel has ice class 1A Super, which is the highest ice class for any oil tanker of this size.
The current MARPOL Annex VI global sulphur cap of 4.50%, which entered into force in May 2005, made little impact on bunker fuel availability as the market has all along had very few cases of heavy fuel oil (HFO) exceeding this sulphur limit. However, this situation may change from as early as 1 January next year when the sulphur limit is reduced to 3.50%.
The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments is one of the most significant environmental and operational challenges faced by the maritime industry today. Once it enters into force, the Convention will require compliance by all ships and offshore structures designed to carry ballast water, regardless of their age or size.
Questions related to ballast water management systems for oil tankers
In March 2011, DNV verified the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for the 318 000 dwt crude oil carrier Dar Salwa, which is owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Company S.A.K. (KOTC). The ship is the first crude oil carrier to receive an EEDI verification statement, which declares the ship’s CO2 emission level, from DNV.
Over the last two decades, rapid growth in the maritime industry has forced many owners to hire younger, less-experienced technical personnel. In response to industry demand, DNV has created a web-based version of the popular Superintendent’s Manual to help improve technical competence.
DNV’s primary role as a class society is to manage risk in support of safe and reliable shipping. But the organisation’s engineering expertise and technical competence has created a culture of innovation that continues to generate value-added services and concepts that challenge the industry to improve performance.
DNV has taken the initiative to develop more reliable methods for designing and operating LNG membrane tankers based on full- and model-scale measurements of liquid motion forces.
The oil market has become more uncertain now that war has broken out in Libya and several Arab countries are experiencing severe unrest. This may have some negative impact on the world economy and temporarily reduce oil demand. Oil supply disruptions could decrease the volumes available for exports.
When the 320 000 tdw BW Lotus was delivered in January and BW Peony in April to owners Bergesen Worldwide from Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co Ltd, they were the biggest VLCC’s delivered from any Chinese yard ever.
