Search Results for: Great Lakes Shipyard

Doyle dissents on FMC RO/RO tug services decision

JANUARY 23, 2016 — Following a January 19 Federal Maritime Commission vote, Roll-on/Roll-off vessels deployed in services covered by the WWL/EUKOR/ARC/Glovis Cooperative Working Agreement (FMC No. 012309-001) are permitted, from today, to

Fraser reaches settlement with OSHA

JANUARY 5, 2017 — Fraser Shipyards Inc., Superior, WI, has reportedly reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in a case relating to employee

  • News

CSL self-unloader heads for recycling in Turkey

NOVEMBER 6, 2016 —Canada Steamship Lines reports that the self-unloading bulk carrier Spirit of Shpongle, formerly known as Atlantic Erie, left the Port of Montreal for the last time, November 4, bound

Green technologies: The road to faster adoption

Leading shipowners and operators, gas suppliers, ports, class societies, and technologists gathered last month in London to announce a new cross-industry initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. The initiative hopes to address the issues of LNG bunkering infrastructure, regulatory concerns, and the higher initial capital investment costs in building LNG-fueled vessels.

Called SEA/LNG, the initiative brings together participants from Carnival Corporation & plc, DNV GL, ENGIE, ENN, GE, GTT, Lloyd’s Register, Mitsubishi Corporation, NYK Line, Port of Rotterdam, Qatargas, Shell, TOTE Inc. and Wärtsilä.

The goal of the initiative explains TOTE Inc. Executive Vice President Peter Keller, who is serving as SEA\LNG’s Chairman, is to address “market barriers and help transform the use of LNG as a marine fuel into a global reality.”

When it comes to using LNG as a marine fuel, TOTE is all in. It’s committed about $500 million in capital investments to have its entire fleet to burn LNG. The U.S.-flag operator has built two 3,100 TEU LNG-fuelled containerships now in operation between the Port of Jacksonville, FL, and San Juan, PR, and is converting the two ORCA Class Roll-on/Roll-Off ships in its fleet to burn LNG. The first of those two is being converted at Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard this fall.

TOTE is not alone in adding dual-fuel and LNG-Ready tonnage to its oceangoing fleet in the U.S. Harvey Gulf International Marine, Crowley Maritime Corp., Matson Navigation, Kinder Morgan, and SEA VISTA/SEACOR all have vessels in operation or under construction that burn or could eventually burn LNG as a marine fuel. In all, there are 29 vessels that are designed or could be converted to burn LNG as shown in the accompanying table. This does not include inland and coastal vessels such as towboats or ferries.

The U.S. Maritime Administration, for example, is supporting the conversion of a towboat to burn LNG as fuel.

The use of LNG as a marine fuel has increased with Emission Control Areas (ECAs) coming into force in Northern Europe and North America under MARPOL Annex VI. LNG is relatively clean burning, containing virtually no sulfur content and it produces lower NOx and particulate matter in the combustion process than fuel oil and marine diesel oil.

A long-time, well-known proponent of LNG as a marine fuel, John Hatley, PE, Gas Initiatives Wärtsilä North America, sees gas as a compelling solution for box feeders, RO/RO vessels, ferries and cruise ships, product tankers, Great Lakes vessels, and ATBs on short coastal voyages that enter into ECAs.

LNG is therefore able to offer a fuel solution compliant with both current and anticipated future regulations.

The larger effect from Annex VI will come when the requirement to reduce sulfur content of marine fuels to 0.5% on a global basis effective 2020 or 2025 depending on the outcome of an IMO low sulfur fuel availability study to be completed in 2018. The issue for ship owners and operators is how to find alternatives to economically meet the low sulfur fuel mandate about to be imposed by MARPOL Annex VI.

However, while LNG is a competitive fuel relative to current alternatives, LNG infrastructure is needed in ports around the world to enable quick, safe and cost effective bunkering. In the U.S., the first LNG bunker transport barge with GTT Mark III Flex tank technology is under construction at Conrad Orange shipyard in Orange, TX, and expected to be delivered in early 2017. LNG bunkering infrastructure is far more advanced in Europe.

“Everybody is calling for alternatives to reduce environmental impacts says Philip Olivier, CEO of ENGIE Global LNG. “That’s why we have joined forces to actively promote LNG as a key fuel in maritime transport. LNG has the potential to take a 10% market share of global bunker demand by 2030. ENGIE will contribute to achieving this target.”

Tom Strang, Senior Vice President, Maritime Affairs, Carnival Corporation & plc, says, “By working together proactively across the whole marine LNG value chain we can make the transition to a lower emission marine sector a reality.”

Lauran Wetemans Shell’s general manager downstream LNG agrees. “To make the transition to LNG as a fuel happen it needs close collaboration with key players across the full value chain,” says, Wetemans. “SEA/LNG aims to promote the benefits and potential of LNG fuel, and create a level playing field for LNG with other fuels. It will complement the work being done by other organizations like the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel.”

Leo Karistios, Gas Technology Lead, Lloyd’s Register, points out, “LNG fuelled shipping has mainly been for the visionaries and, until now, concentrated in specialist ship sectors: short sea shipping and ferries, mainly sailing between two fixed ports. We want to help drive the expansion of LNG as a marine fuel of choice, with not just more short sea and local ships burning gas, but also the deep sea trades.”

Timo Koponen, Vice President, Flow & Gas Solutions, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions, says his company will contribute “its vast experience and know-how in gas driven propulsion systems and the entire gas value chain” to the initiative. “By working together, we plan to overcome the challenges and speed the general acceptance of LNG. Having been a pioneer in the use of LNG as a marine fuel, and a developer of major technologies facilitating the adoption of LNG fuel, it is natural that Wärtsilä supports wholeheartedly the aims of the SEA/LNG coalition.”

Developing bulk carrier concept
Wärtsilä is also involved with an effort with class society ABS, Arista Shipping, Deltamarin, and GTT in the Project Forward joint development project (JDP) to develop a dry bulk carrier concept that employs LNG as fuel.

The goal is to develop a Kamsarmax bulk carrier design to be the first of this type suitable for worldwide services powered by LNG in compliance with the IMO’s Energy Efficiency Design Index 2025 standards, NOx Tier III and MARPOL Annex VI SOx emission levels. This landmark design will be the first LNG-fueled cargo ship capable of full-range operations.

“The long-term potential for LNG as a marine fuel is tremendous,” says ABS Vice President of Global Gas Solutions Patrick Janssens. “We see the near-term opportunities for larger vessels on fixed and known trade routes, but more opportunities will emerge as concepts mature and bunkering infrastructure expands. Environmental stewardship will continue to be a concern, and owners will be evaluating alternative fuel choices.”

“Project Forward represents a milestone for the shipping industry in bringing to the market a practical, achievable design for what are the workhorses of the shipping fleet,” says Arista Shipping Principal Alexander P. Panagopulos. “Our mission is to develop the next generation of energy efficient and environmentally friendly dry bulk cargo ships to be sustainable worldwide beyond 2030. It marks a number of ‘firsts’ and draws together the experience of a team of leaders in their field to make LNG powered shipping a reality on the high seas.”

Technical challenges in developing this design were considerable, as there is a need to carry a large volume of LNG (2,500 m3) – which corresponds to full-range operation and 40 days – in a type of ship where available space is limited and cargo space is at a premium.

ABS will provide Approval in Principle (AIP) for the concept, which is based on the highly optimized Deltamarin B.Delta 82 design, utilizing a GTT membrane LNG fuel tank. This design also could be applied to other bulk carrier sizes and serve as the basis for an LNG-fueled tanker. The concept features a Wärtsilä four-stroke, medium-speed engine without auxiliary generators, the first time this configuration has been applied to a vessel of this type, significantly simplifying the vessel’s engine room arrangement and contributing to lower capital expenditure.

Read more from our Green Technology & Sustainable Shipping section in our Digital Edition.

Orders for new ships slow, but U.S. owners active in sales and purchase

The total capacity of these vessels is just over 7 million deadweight tons (dwt), with a total current value of $4.5 billion (See Table 1: Value of U.S.-Built Shipping). Globally, the United States (as a shipbuilding nation) is ranked in 11th place (in terms of dwt) and a respectable sixth place behind South Korea, Japan, China, the Philippines, Germany, and Turkey in terms of the current value of the U.S. built fleet. Based on the volume of ships on the water, the most prolific U.S. shipbuilder has been NASSCO, San Diego, CA, a unit of General Dynamics. NASSCO also operates shipyards on the U.S. East Coast in Mayport, FL, and Norfolk, VA. As of mid-March, VesselsValue estimated the ships being built at NASSCO had values of around $900 million (this value excludes delivered ships). NASSCO recently launched the 53,700 dwt MR tanker Independence, which VesselsValue currently values at $133.45 million (this excludes a premium for the Jones Act). The Independence will be joined by two MR2 tankers on order at NASSCO for Seabulk Tankers. As of mid-March, NASSCO had four MR2 tankers on its order book for American Petroleum Tankers.  Charts Shipbuilding

The San Diego shipyard delivered two LNG-fuelled 3,100-TEU containerships, including the lead of the Marlin class, the Isla Bella, in November 2015 to Tote Maritime. The Isla Bella, along with its sister, Perla dela Caribe, are now operating between Jacksonville, FL, and San Juan, PR.

The only other U.S. shipyard with bulker, tanker, and gas carrier vessels currently on its order book is Philly Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA (formerly known as Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Inc.) Philly Shipyard has built product tankers, crude carriers, and containerships. The Philly Shipyard built fleet is currently valued at just over $1 billion. Its order book consists of eight 50,000 dwt MR tankers and this design has been classed by ABS as LNG Ready, which provides the owner with the flexibility to choose to convert the ship to dual fuel operation in the future.

In early May, Crowley Maritime Corporation christened the Louisiana, third of four LNG Ready product tankers at the Julia Street Cruise Terminal in New Orleans, LA.

Like its sisters, the 600 ft Louisiana is based on a proven design from Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyards (HMD) design. It can carry crude oil or refined petroleum products, as well as other chemical products. 

Construction management services were provided by Crowley’s marine solutions group, which provides oversight and management in shipyards across the country for Crowley and other third-party companies. Philly Shipyard also built the tankers Texas and Ohio for Crowley, and the fourth ship in the program is under construction with delivery planned for third quarter 2016.

“The christening underscores our continued commitment to building and operating innovative vessels that deliver the best possible service and efficiency for our customers who depend on us for safe and reliable transportation of petroleum products,” says Rob Grune, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Petroleum Services. “And, as is the case with its sister ships, we designed and built the Louisiana to have the capability to be converted to LNG propulsion in the future, increasing the likelihood of a long service life as new emissions regulations are developed in the years ahead.”

JONES ACT FLEET CONSIDERABLY OLDER THAN WORLD FLEET
It’s no secret that the U.S. Jones Act fleet is considerably older than the average age of the global, non-U.S.-built fleet. The current U.S.-built fleet has an average age of 33 years old versus 13 years old for the global fleet. The most recent ships produced by U.S. shipyards have been tankers and the average age of U.S.-built tankers is only five years older than the global fleet. However, there has been virtually no U.S. investment in bulkers (many of them are part of the Great Lakes fleet). The U.S.-built bulker fleet has an average age of 46 years old versus nine years old for the global fleet. Even a relatively modern ship type, such as containerships, the average age of the U.S.-built fleet is 32 years old, considerably older than the average of 11 years old for non-U.S.-built vessels.

TOP TEN U.S. SHIPOWNERS
According to VesselsValue, the Top Ten U.S. shipowners ranked by value control around half the capacity (48%) of the U.S. fleet (see Table 2. U.S. Shipowners Ranked by Fleet Value).

The Top Ten Shipowners are tanker companies or the tanker arms of oil majors. The current most valuable U.S.-operated fleet is that American Shipping Co., a Norwegian public company controlling a fleet of 10 MR2 tankers built by Philly Shipyard and leased out to OSG, which charters them out to Jones Act qualifying companies. VesselsValue estimates this fleet is worth $830 million. The second most valuable U.S. fleet belongs to new entrant American Petroleum Tankers, which is a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Terminals, with its fleet operated by Crowley Maritime Corporation, Jacksonville, FL. This fleet will be supplemented by MR tankers currently on the order book of NASSCO. However, in the last 12 months, the U.S. order book has been very quiet, with no bulker, tankers or gas carriers ordered.

SALE AND PURCHASE ACTIVITY
If there is one area where U.S. shipping has been active, it’s been in the sale and purchase market. The dire dry bulk market is one of the driving forces behind Scorpio Bulker selling 25 vessels in the last 12 months (March 2015 to March 2016) for a combined value (at the time of sale) of $878 million (where the sale price is undisclosed, the VV Value the day of the sale is used). Altogether 88 vessels have been sold by U.S. owners for a combined value (where the sale price is undisclosed, the VV Value the day of the sale is used) of $3.4 billion (see Table 3: Sales by U.S. Owners).

Of course, under the Jones Act, U.S. companies cannot purchase foreign-built vessels to operate in Jones Act trade routes. This reduces the pool of potential purchases, which in the last 12 months (March 2015-March 2016) have been limited to eight vessels, including four MR tankers from Philly Shipyard purchased by Kinder Morgan for a reported $568 million (See Table 4: Purchases by U.S. Owners).

 

 

 

 

  • News

Algoma duo to have MacGregor self-unloading systems

APRIL 25, 2016 — Cargotec subsidiary MacGregor has received an order for gravity self-unloading systems for two 29,800 dwt bulk carriers (lakers) from China’s Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.. The vessels will