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The slide in spot earnings on the transpacific has been dramatic over the past month, and lines are redeploying ships to more profitable tradelanes.

Alphaliner has crunched the numbers to work out the revenues per nautical mile on the main east-west tradelanes with the transatlantic coming out on top by some distance.

Shanghai to California spot rates have slumped below $3,500 per feu as of last Friday, which works out at 60 cents per nautical mile, a figure that has more than halved since July. For both the Shanghai to New York and Shanghai to Rotterdam routes, revenues are now at 73 cents per nautical mile according to Alphaliner, while for the transatlantic from Rotterdam to New York the figure stands at 217.9 cents per nautical mile.

“Shifting extra tonnage to the North Europe – USEC trade can therefore be very rewarding,” Alphaliner noted in its most recent weekly report, suggesting that this might explain COSCO’s decision to replace the 8,063 OOCL Shekou with the much larger 13,092 teu COSCO Harmony on the Ocean Alliance’s TAT2 loop, although extra capacity is also needed on this tradelane to cope with the effects of port congestion.

The crash in spot rates on the transpacific is a “major concern” for the newcomers on this trade, Alphaliner reported. The route had previously been the most lucrative during most of the pandemic.

While average revenue of 60 cents per nautical mile on the transpacific is still more than double compared to pre-pandemic levels, the rapidly falling spot rates will hurt newcomers and non-alliance carriers which have fixed very expensive tonnage on the charter market, Alphaliner warned. These carriers are typically very dependent on the spot market.

Alphaliner data looking at the top 30 carriers shows Unifeeder and Sea Lead Shipping rely on chartered in tonnage for 100% of their needs, while Emirates Shipping Line has a fleet made up of 96% chartered in vessels, ZIM stands at 94%, with China United Lines (CU Lines) on 87%.

“Several of the new entrants to the Asia-Europe and Transpacific markets have significant tonnage commitments that will not allow them to easily remove their vessels in the short term,” a report from Linerlytica pointed out earlier this week.

Alphaliner has previously suggested the industry will experience a widening two-tier market differentiated by those carriers who have signed long-term contracts at elevated rates, and those relying on the softening spot market.

New analysis released this week by BIMCO forecasts headhaul and regional volume growth dropping 1-2% in 2022 with 3-4% growth in 2023 as best case.

“The fleet supply/demand balance is predicted to worsen, and although carriers can maintain a tight cargo supply/demand balance by adjusting deployment, we predict that freight rates will continue to fall. At the very least, contract rates must be expected to again move below spot rates,” the BIMCO container analysis reported.

Source: https://splash247.com/transatlantic-becomes-most-lucrative-east-west-trade/

At the moment, LNG as a fuel is dominating the orderbook of larger ships. Data from DNV shows that of the 1,046 ships on order with alternative fuels, 167 are LNG-fuelled LNG carriers, and 367 are LNG-fuelled ships of other types.

The challenge with LNG lies in the occurrence of the ‘methane slip’, the unburned fuel emitted from dual fuel internal combustion engines on ships, as well as the methane leakage that happens throughout the LNG supply chain. Various studies have pointed out that these spillages result in higher well-to-wake (WTW) CO2e emissions from ships using LNG compared with conventional marine fuels.

Therefore, the uptake of LNG as a ‘climate-friendly’ fuel for the maritime industry hinges on the assumption that ships can switch to bio and e-LNG (renewable LNG) in the future, cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

However, for this to happen, there must be enough renewable LNG to meet future demand and using it must result in a substantial reduction in GHG emissions on a life-cycle basis compared to fossil LNG, as indicated in the recent report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

ICCT’s report focuses on ships trading within the European Union. It predicts a tripling demand for LNG as marine fuel between 2019 and 2030, based on trends in fuel consumption. It also estimates that renewable LNG will cost seven times more than fossil LNG in 2030 and, therefore, subsidies or other policies would be needed to encourage its use.

It dives into three possible scenarios until 2030 in the EU with governmental subsidies supporting the use of renewable LNG.

Offering no subsidy means that 2030 LNG demand would be met using 100% fossil LNG, which would result in a tripling of WTW GHG emissions from LNG-fueled ships compared to the 2019 level.

With a subsidy of 25 euros per gigajoule (€25/GJ), which is the current midrange level of EU policy support for grid-injected biomethane and is equivalent to €1,200 per tonne of LNG, only 4% of LNG demand would be met with renewable LNG and WTW GHG emissions would approximately triple from 2019 levels.

Only LNG made using inexpensive landfill gas would be cost-competitive with fossil LNG in 2030 and this feedstock is in limited supply, the study shows.

Doubling the subsidy to €50/GJ would enable the use of 100% renewable LNG because it would create price parity between more expensive LNG biofuels made from agricultural residues as well as e-LNG. This level of price support would require annual public expenditures of €17.8 billion in 2030, the council noted.

The figure below compares a scenario in which ships use 100% renewable LNG in 2030 (far right, representing a €50 per gigajoule subsidy) to emissions from using 100% fossil in 2019 (far left).

“For renewable LNG to significantly contribute to achieving climate goals, methane slip from marine engines needs to be virtually eliminated and methane leaks upstream need to be greatly reduced. Additionally, methane leaks from onboard fuel tanks and cargo tanks, which researchers are still working to adequately quantify, would need to be near zero. It is important for policymakers and stakeholders to understand that other fuels, including synthetic diesel and green methanol, could offer low life-cycle emissions without the methane problem,” ICCT said.

“Synthetic diesel and green methanol have production costs and technical constraints similar to renewable LNG, but these liquid fuels are easier to store onboard than LNG and could be supplied using existing distribution networks. Synthetic diesel can be used in conventional marine engines or dual fuel engines, including those on existing LNG-fueled ships, and methanol can be used in new or modified dual fuel engines.”

What is more, at the moment there are no globally recognised methods for measuring methane slip – with a lack of available data and tools contributing to the issue.

To address the problem, ICCT launched the FUgitive Methane Emissions from Ships (FUMES) project to quantify methane emissions from LNG-fueled ships. Using in-stack continuous emissions monitoring, drones, and helicopters, the project will examine and quantify methane emissions from ships fueled by LNG under a variety of real-world operating conditions.

Industry majors who have been vocal proponents of LNG for their own ships, including Shell and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), have launched a coalition targeting technology solutions for the maritime industry to measure and manage methane emissions.

In its first year, the Methane Abatement in Maritime (MAM) Innovation Initiative plans to identify and pilot new technologies to monitor and reduce ‘methane slip’ from vessels fuelled by LNG.

The initiative will also look into the ways of encouraging ship owners and operators to adopt proven abatement technology at scale.

Source: https://www.offshore-energy.biz/icct-for-renewable-lng-to-make-climate-sense-methane-slip-must-be-eliminated/

NYK Group’s company, NiMiC, an overseas ship management company based in Taipei, has appointed a local seafarer to the position of chief engineer for the very first time. On August 19, Lee Chia-Chu, whom NiMiC had trained as a cadet since he began his studies as a university student, was promoted to the rank of chief engineer of an LNG carrier being managed by NiMiC.

Lee participated in training on board an NYK carrier for six months in 2011 and graduated from university in 2012. He started his carrier as third engineer in 2014 and currently has 10 years of experience working on LNG carriers.

Over the past decade, Lee took part in training conducted by the NYK Maritime College, which is original training provided by NYK Shipmanagement, a group company of NYK, in addition to onboard training on an LNG carrier. Lee joined the vessel at dry dock on August 19, and after completing turnover procedures while at dry dock with his predecessor, Lee began his duties as the vessel’s chief engineer from September 9.

Most of the seafarers serving on LNG carriers under NiMiC management were Filipino or Indian in 2009. But Taiwan decided to train more local seafarers and NiMiC and NYK established a training scheme for local university students to become cadets with the cooperation of National Taiwan Ocean University and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology.

Since then, 24 cadets from the two universities have received training. NYK will continue to train local seafarers and contribute to the development of local maritime industries.

Lee Chia-Chu said: “It’s my honor to be the first Chief engineer and the pioneer of all local seafarer on board LNG carrier. I appreciate all the support I received from everyone for building local seafarer training program.

“Since I was a cadet, I received solid training on board and ashore established by NYK. Sincerely appreciate all the colleagues who have guided me all the way up to my current position and NiMiC ship management providing me valuable experience attending several dry docking and modifications.

“As a chief engineer in NYK group I will continue contributing my effort to make sure the safety on board and business of (operating the) vessel (are) intact.”

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/in-a-first-nyk-promotes-taiwanese-to-chief-engineer/

As part of its ambitious strategy for instant and frictionless transactions, SWIFT September 1 announces a new capability that uses its global intelligence on past cross-border flows to predict potential problems before new international payments are sent.

The new service analyses previous flows on the SWIFT network to identify accounts that have been credited successfully and uses this information to detect potential errors in payee information – the most common cause of cross-border delays.

This centralized verification, based on aggregated and anonymized data from nine billion transaction messages between four billion accounts each year, provides a level of insight no single financial institution has on its own. It also gives real-time confidence that a payment will go through, regardless of whether the parties or banks in a transaction have transacted with each other before.

“Think of it as the ultimate payment pre-check” said Thomas Zschach, Chief Innovation Officer, SWIFT. “When someone wants to make an international payment, we can instantly predict the likelihood of success based on whether the account has been credited successfully in the past, and then present this information directly to the customer so that they can fix any errors or typos before the payment even starts its processing.”

“We are able to do this because of the unique perspective SWIFT has at the heart of the financial community, and our strategic commitment to make international payments as seamless as the fastest domestic ones,” he added.

The new capability is an expanded feature of SWIFT’s Payment Pre-validation service and is available to banks via an API, meaning their customers can immediately benefit to send and receive international payments around the world even faster.

It marks another bold step forward as SWIFT evolves its platform to enable banks to drive a new era of instant, frictionless and interoperable cross-border transactions to create new value for their customers. As part of this commitment, SWIFT is also significantly expanding its capabilities in areas including low value payments through SWIFT Go and is partnering with industry players to explore the capabilities and potential use of CBDCs, tokenization and AI.

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/predictive-data-intelligence-removes-hurdles-to-instant-cross-border-transactions-over-swift/

Korean Register (KR) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) will be developing a new 40,000 m3 LCO2 carrier featuring a next generation cargo handling system. The two Korean firms signed an MOU at Gastech 2022 in Milan, Italy 7 September to help meet the growing demand for vessels capable of transporting carbon dioxide at scale from emissions sources to storage sites.

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies are fast growing as the world seeks to achieve carbon neutrality and build an international carbon capture infrastructure.

However, carbon dioxide is a complex cargo to handle, having a triple point which is higher than atmospheric pressure, meaning that it can liquefy only at low temperatures and high pressures.

Even a small environmental change can see CO2 transform into a gas, liquid or solid state. The new design will feature a reliable Ship and Cargo Containment System (CCS) using its accumulated technologies in the field of liquefied gas carriers, such as LNG and LPG carriers.

DSME will also develop a Cargo Handling System (CHS) using the latest technology to prevent CO2 emissions and ensure navigational stability.

KR plans to verify compliance with its own Rules and The International Code of the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code) for the cargo containment and handling systems developed by DSME.

Jun-Lyoung Seo, CTO of DSME, said: “Responding to climate change will be a new opportunity for the shipbuilding industry. To further enhance our competitiveness in the future green shipbuilding market, we will develop an efficient and safe LCO2 carrier through this collaboration and hope to obtain an Approval in Principle from KR within this year.”

Kyu-jin Yeon, Head of KR’s Plan Approval Center, said: “This collaboration with DSME is significant at a time when the demand for safer LCO2 carrier technology is increasing. Through this joint development project, we will continue to support DSME’s CO2-related technology and decarbonization projects.”

According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2020, up to 40 million tons of CO2 is captured annually, and most of which is permanently stored in geological formations or re-injected into oil wells to promote oil recovery.

In particular, as CCUS technology is expected to contribute a significant portion of the global total carbon dioxide reduction, the demand for LCO2 carriers to transport CO2 to storage facilities is expected to increase.

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/korean-register-daewoo-shipbuilding-collaborate-on-large-scale-liquefied-co2-carrier-technology/

GF Piping Systems presented solutions to make the maritime industry more sustainable through the use of plastic piping systems at the SMM 2022 in Hamburg recently, according to a press release.

The company introduced metal alternatives such as the Butterfly Valve 565, HEAT-FIT, and COOL-FIT, all of which aim to make maritime piping applications more intelligent, efficient, and sustainable, under the motto “Future Horizons,” according to a statement.

“With more than 30 years of experience in this industry, we are very aware of the current challenges. We believe that complete piping solutions consisting of corrosion-free, long-lasting, and cost-effective plastic components can be part of a holistic strategy that makes the maritime sector more sustainable. Therefore, we will continue to focus on future horizons,” said Roberto Chiesa, head of business development marine, GF Piping Systems.

The Butterfly Valve 565 with digital functionality, which was recently certified by DNV and Bureau Veritas, is a new addition to the company’s portfolio. It includes a fiber-reinforced polyamide housing, a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) valve disc, and is pressure and temperature resistant, allowing it to easily replace metal alternatives.

HEAT-FIT, a fire-retardant pipe jacket system that introduces efficient plastic piping systems into L3 applications, was also displayed at the fair. It employs materials from the aerospace and building technology industries and can withstand fire with a temperature of up to 1000°C for 30 minutes at 3 bar. HEAT-FIT is certified by DNV, Bureau Veritas, ABS, and Lloyds Register, and it meets IMO Res, among other safety standards.

In addition, the company displayed COOL-FIT, a pre-insulated system designed to optimize commercial and industrial refrigeration applications. It is up to 60% lighter and 30% more efficient than metal due to its design, for less energy-intensive and more cost-effective operations.

Source: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/28239-gf-piping-systems-introduces-plastic-piping-systems.html

The Port of San Diego’s new cruise season is about to start and this season is poised to be the Port’s busiest since 2010 with 140 cruises scheduled, up 45 percent from last year, with all sailings at or near full capacity, bringing approximately 460,000 passengers, according to a press release.

“The Port of San Diego’s cruise business is definitely experiencing a rebound and we expect continued growth,” said Port of San Diego Chairman Dan Malcolm. “We’re pleased to be welcoming our cruise customers back to San Diego and to share how wonderful our port is to our cruise passengers. This season’s business will be a great boost to our regional economy.”

The Port’s new cruise season officially begins September 19, 2022 with the arrival of Silversea Cruises’ Star Breeze. Star Breeze will be cruising to Papeete, Tahiti on a 13-day voyage. It will be followed by the Disney Wonder arriving on September 23. Disney Cruise Line is more than doubling its sailings from San Diego this season, moving from 16 to 24 per season to 51. Princess Cruises is also adding new business to San Diego with 13 sailings and will be homeporting here for the first time ever.

The full schedule features long-term Port of San Diego partners Holland America Line and Disney Cruise Line, as well as Princess Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Voyages from MSC Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Scenic Luxury Cruises, Oceania Cruises, and American Queen Voyages are also on the calendar.

Itineraries featured include voyages to the Mexican Riviera, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, and the California Coast.

The Port is making some major repairs and improvements to the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal. A project to install a new curtain wall to extend the life and long-term stability of the pier structure is underway. Additionally, shore power capacity is being doubled and the Port will begin connecting two cruise ships simultaneously this fall. Also, in 2024, the Port will begin construction on a $5 million project to make interior improvements to the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal.

Source: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/28249-port-of-san-diego-to-begin-its-busiest-cruise-season-since-2010.html

At Gastech 2022, DNV signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with maritime industry technology leaders HHI, AVIKUS, and Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) to collaborate on autonomous ship technology developments.

The Hyundai intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS 2.0) is an AI-based navigation solution that covers all steps for voyage from detection to situation analysis, planning, and control. The system assists in safe navigation by displaying augmented reality (AR) images of detected ships and navigation information. Furthermore, it controls heading and speed for collision avoidance and route tracking. Developed by AVIKUS, a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the system creates and controls optimal routes for collision avoidance in the ocean, aiming to reduce crew fatigue and increase fuel efficiency.

The multilateral MoU includes a joint study to deploy autonomous navigation systems on-board ships to increase technology uptake by the industry and flag states. During the project, AVIKUS, HHI, and LISCR will actively contribute to developing autonomous maritime solutions that comply with DNV rules on autonomous operations, where AVIKUS aims to obtain an Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV as well as the Liberian Flag Administration.

“Through this co-operation, we believe that we will gain momentum to move forward to the next stage of autonomous ship technology. We will try to maintain the leading position in this technology and to increase competitiveness in the future ship market,” said Won Ho Joo, CTO of HHI.

“This joint development is meaningful in that it includes shipyards, autonomous solution companies, classification, and flag states to commercialise autonomous navigation solutions. Based on the results of this project, we will successfully commercialise HiNAS 2.0 and contribute to the improvement of navigation safety and fuel savings,” said Dohyeong Lim, CEO of AVIKUS.

“As a result of the 4^th Industrial Revolution, the fast-paced technology development will pave the way for autonomous shipping. This ground-breaking MoU with collaboration between forward-thinking and safety-focused stakeholders will set an example of how artificial intelligence (AI) can support and enhance the safety of navigation and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” said Thomas Klenum, Executive Vice President, Innovation, and Regulatory Affairs at LISCR.

“Rightly applied, a higher degree of digitalisation can contribute to safety and efficiency enhancements in shipping. Therefore, we are pleased to collaborate with industry technology leaders and help to advance the development of autonomous ships,” said Vidar Dolonen, Regional Manager DNV Maritime Korea & Japan.

Source: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/12092022/dnv-signs-mou-with-hhi-avikus-and-liscr/

Aurelia Green Ship Concept Design has unveiled a new design with 100% hydrogen propulsion, which challenges the future of the green design business. The Certificate of Approval in Principle has been issued by RINA based on the newly published RINA Rules for Hydrogen Fuelled Ships and the RINA Guide for the Approval in Principle of Novel Technologies.

The new design concept is the ACD01 1000, a RORO vessel for transporting ro-ro cargo, with electric propulsion using highly compressed H₂ as fuel. Beyond the green design, the difference is marked by the ship’s hydrogen-based engine system, which can be applied to other ship designs.

The fuel used to operate the vessel is 100% compressed hydrogen which generates no environmentally harmful emissions with a design which can be considered as zero emission not only in port, but also during navigation. The hybrid propulsion is based on battery and fuel cell power modules and it is not supported by internal combustion engines supplied by petroleum-based conventional fuels. The batteries are used as an energy storage source to supply power for the hotel load too.

Ton Bos, partner, and co-founder of Aurelia commented: “The world of zero emissions is a pioneering world open to new opportunities, which to some extent reminds me of the first operations in the heavy lift sector, where there was also no experience yet. In this sense, the cooperation with RINA is a strong signal that the maritime world is ready to work together for clean shipping.”

“This cooperation gives us the opportunity to tune the recently published rules for Hydrogen, to focus on new technical challenges as well to verify the technology readiness level of the components and systems used for the storage, supply and bunkering of hydrogen. The commitment of the persons involved is high and this will bring realistic achievements”, said Patrizio Di Francesco, EMEA Special Projects Manager at RINA.

Furthermore, this new design complies well beyond the limits settled by EEDI Phase 3 according to MEPC.203(62), the ballast water treatment plant is in accordance with the latest amendments of the International Ballast Water Management Convention and the hull is designed to ensure excellent hydrodynamic and maximum propeller efficiency.

“This new design for a compressed hydrogen RORO is part of a long-term cooperation between Aurelia and RINA in which we will develop liquefied hydrogen propulsion system that could be used for heavy lift, cruise and Ro-Pax vessels. This cooperation with RINA will ensure that the design of renewable ships becomes a reality and does not remain a distant dream. From Aurelia we are synergising with RINA to achieve this out of the box design concept, we think big, we think about the future, we think about safety and our planet,” said Raffaele Frontera, founding partner of Aurelia Green Concept Design.

Source: https://www.marasinews.com/environment/aurelia%E2%80%99s-100-hydrogen-powered-design-awarded-rina-approval

HCMC – The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has proposed cutting some transportation fees by 50% in a draft circular detailing the collection rates of fees and charges in the transportation sector.

The proposed collection rates which apply to the tonnage fees and maritime safety assurance charge, charge for entering or leaving seaports for inland maritime activities, will be 80% of the current rates as provided in Circular 261/2016/TT-BTC.

Charges for the use of railway infrastructure are proposed to enjoy a 50% reduction, based on the revenue of railway business operations.

For the charge for entering or leaving seaports for inland maritime activities and waterway reporting fees, the MOF proposed a new collection rate at 50% of the current rates. The new rate shall be effective as of the date of issuance of the circular till the end of December 31, 2022.

As of January 1, 2023, the collection rates of the above fees and charges shall be applied in compliance with Circular 261/2016/TT-BTC and Circular 295/2016/TT-BTC.

In the last eight months, the MOF has proposed reducing 35 types of fees and charges. Some 37 fees and charges have been cut until the end of June 2022 and others will continue to be reduced to support residents and enterprises in easing hardships after the pandemic, totaling up to VND900 billion.

Though the continuous reduction of fees and charges has affected the State budget, the MOF will manage to roll out fiscal supporting packages from now until the end of 2022 to help socio-economic development recover under the guidance of the Government.

Source: https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/transportation-charges-continue-falling/

Older Posts

Transatlantic becomes most lucrative east-west trade

ICCT: For renewable LNG to make climate sense, methane slip must be eliminated

In A First, NYK Promotes Taiwanese To Chief Engineer

Predictive Data Intelligence Removes Hurdles To Instant Cross-Border Transactions Over SWIFT

Korean Register, Daewoo Shipbuilding Collaborate On Large Scale Liquefied CO2 Carrier Technology

GF Piping Systems Introduces Plastic Piping Systems

Port of San Diego to Begin its Busiest Cruise Season Since 2010

DNV signs MoU with HHI, AVIKUS, and LISCR

Aurelia’s 100% hydrogen powered design awarded RINA approval

Transportation charges continue falling

HCMC – The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has proposed cutting some transportation fees by 50% in a draft circular detailing the collection rates of fees and charges in the transportation sector.

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