Apart from the ambitious target of the 2020 Global Sulphur Cap set by the IMO, shipowners and operators must also take into considerations the greenhouse gas targets for 2030 and the emissions goals for 2050. ABS informs that the regulatory changes set for 2020, as well as those expected for 2030 and 2050, will be “more disruptive than any past environmental regulations.”
Grain LNG, Europe’s largest LNG terminal, exported the highest ever amount of gas in a single day from any European terminal into the UK network. The terminal, situated on the Isle of Grain in the Thames estuary, exported 698 GWh of gas, beating its previous record by more than 100 GWh.
The leading petroleum tanker owner and operator, AET, named its newest vessels, two of the world’s first LNG Dual-Fuel Dynamic Positioning Shuttle Tankers (DPSTs) today. The naming ceremony of the twin-skeg 123,100dwt shuttle tankers, Eagle Blane and Eagle Balder, was held at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) Geoje Shipyard in South Korea.
Total, the French energy giant and LNG player, is aiming to restart LNG production at the Balhaf facility operated by Yemen LNG in the future, in which Total has an interest of 39.6%. In April 2015, the Yemen LNG plant was forced to switch to preservation mode, due to the ongoing conflict in Yemen and growing insecurity around the Balhaf site. Total notes that its actions since then intended to ensure the safety of local employees, and further preserve the Balhaf site so that it can resume LNG production once peace is been restored in the country.
The Singapore Registry of Ships has crossed the 95 million gross tonnage milestone in 2019 and maintained its position among the top registries in the world. The milestone was announced during the ‘2020 & Beyond’, the SRS Forum held by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on November 8.
The Port of IJmuiden saw its first LNG bunkering take place on November 4. The operation included LNG bunkering to the Werkendam, a LNG powered crane vessel, which was a joint effort between the Port of IJmuiden, the OD IJmond and Titan LNG.
Singaporean authorities are promoting LNG as the shipping’s fuel of the future, incentivizing the use of gas instead of bunker fuel for shipping companies. During her opening address at The Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) Forum, Quah Ley Hoon, chief executive of the Maritime And Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore stated that beyond meeting the 2020 sulphur limit, the aim is to fully embrace sustainability and prepare for a lower-carbon future.
OPEC published its World Oil Outlook (WOO) for 2019 on November 5th, at the Wiener Börsensäle in Vienna, Austria. The report entails medium to long-term projections and assessment for the global oil and energy industry, as well as for the shipping industry, for which it says that the impact of IMO regulations will be less severe than previously expected.
During the 2019 SAFETY4SEA Athens Forum, Mr. Stavros Niotis, Principal Engineer OEP, ABS, discusses the STCW requirements of seafarers’ training, noting the three training types and the importance of seafarer competency and knowledge of people onboard the sea.
PitPoint opened what it claims to be the first solid LNG bunker station for inland vessels in Europe in the Niehler Hafen in Cologne. The new LNG bunker station is part of PitPoint’s plans to establish a European LNG infrastructure for heavy transport by road and water and is co-financed by the European Union.
