• 2020 April 18 12:32

    Stolt-Nielsen to scrap scrubber retrofits where possible to cut costs

    Tanker company Stolt-Nielsen is looking for ways to cut expenditures during the pandemic and is planning to cancel scrubber retrofits on its tankers where it is possible, the company’s CEO Niels Stolt-Nielsen said.

    As such, the chemical carrier and tank terminal owner has identified up to $30 million in Capex savings in the tanker sector.

    “The severity and duration of the expected recession are, obviously, impossible to predict. So, while we are hoping for the best, we are preparing for the worst,” he said.

    “We have so far managed to find approximately $83 million of savings from capital expenditures and operating and administrative and general expenses, including that the Board of Directors has agreed to cut board fees by 50% and our senior management team has volunteered to take a salary cut of 20%, effective April 1.”

    The company reported its first loss after 64 consecutive profitable quarters standing at USD 20.2 million, dropping from a profit of USD 5.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

    The EBITDA for the first quarter of 2020 was down to $99.6 million, from $116.6 million, while operating profit fell to $16.6 million from $46.8 million in the previous quarter.

    The results were primarily impacted by higher bunker costs resulting from the switchover to low-sulphur fuel as well as scrubber retrofit and wastewater treatment delays in drydocking.

    The impact of the pandemic is hard to qualify at the moment, but Stolt-Nielsen expects it will most probably exert negative pressure on the company’s second-quarter results.

    The biggest challenge caused by the pandemic at the moment is the company’s inability to change crews on its ships amid travel bans across the globe aimed at curbing the spread of the disease.

    “At Stolt Tankers, contract volumes remain relatively healthy and contract renewals continue with improved terms, though we are experiencing some port delays. Spot volumes in most markets, have also been holding up,” the company’s CEO said in a conference call.

    As explained, the momentum from the fourth quarter is carrying on into the first quarter, even after the pandemic started having its full impact. The trend has been ascribed to a relatively healthy MR market, with rates fetching $25,000 a day.

    “So right now, the markets are holding up relatively well and it looks like that is same in March and also going into April. “

    “Stolthaven Terminals has seen an increase in enquiries for storage in most of its terminals, so utilisation is up, but throughput is slightly down. Stolt Tank Containers continues to see a robust market, reporting a record number of shipments in March and utilisation of 71%, the highest we have seen in recent years, while we are also seeing increased inquiries by customers to use containers as storage. However, we continue to have significant repositioning costs as a result of the rapidly changing trade flows. “

    The company added that it has over USD 519 million in available liquidity following the bond issue in early February, with some of it already used to pay off its April bond maturity in cash.

    Furthermore, Stolt-Nielsen has five unencumbered terminals that can be used to raise further liquidity with a potential borrowing capacity close to $200 million.

    The funds could be used for repayment of the March 2021 bond should the bond market be closed.

    The company already decided to withdraw its previously announced recommendation of a final dividend for 2019 in response to uncertainties created by the coronavirus pandemic.


2024 April 26

18:04 Seaspan celebrates 30 years of ship repair in Victoria
17:31 HMM enhances maritime safety with AI technology
17:13 Potential Strait of Hormuz closure threatens 21% of global LNG supply - Drewry
16:42 Van Oord christens two new hybrid water injection dredgers and an unmanned survey vessel in Rotterdam
15:57 CMA CGM announces FAK rates from Asia to North Europe
15:24 MOL announced delivery of LPG dual-fuel LPG/ammonia carrier Aquamarine Progress II
14:53 DP World and Asian Terminals launch new Tanza Barge Terminal in Cavite
14:23 MH Simonsen orders eight hybrid methanol dual-fuel tankers at China’s Jiangxi New Jiangzhou Shipbuilding
13:47 DP World and Malaysia’s Sabah Ports form a partnership to manage Sapangar Bay Container Port
13:22 SCHOTTEL to equip Guangzhou Port Group’s latest e-tug with two RudderPropellers type SRP 360
12:57 FESCO Group proposes a mechanism in favour of Russian logistics operators over their foreign competitors in domestic transport market
12:39 SSK shipyard launches the Project 14400 support ship Nikolai Kamov in the Nizhny Novgorod region
12:33 Six companies start a joint study for the establishment of an ammonia supply chain based in the Tomakomai area of Hokkaido
11:52 European shipowners welcome 40% production benchmark for clean shipping fuels in Europe
11:14 Greek shipowners leaders in the secondary market once again
10:08 MPCC secures ECA-covered sustainable financing for its dual-fuel methanol newbuildings
09:38 Romanian port of Constantza to receive a new oil products terminal

2024 April 25

18:07 MSC collaborates with GSBN to trial integrated safe transportation certification verification process
17:23 China launches construction of cutting-edge marine research vessel
17:06 CMA CGM and Bpifrance launch €200mln fund to decarbonize French maritime sector
16:46 Avenir LNG orders two 20,000 M3 LNG bunker delivery vessels
16:05 Port of Amsterdam revenues up to €190.4 million in 2023
15:46 OOCL launches Transpacific Latin Pacific 5 to offer express linkage between Asia and Mexico
15:23 MOL is 1st Japanese shipping company to raise funds through transition linked loan using performance-based interest subsidy system
14:53 Trident Energy enters the Republic of Congo with strategic deal
14:21 LNG-powered ship moored in Koper for the first time
13:38 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 17, 2024
13:32 The Grimaldi Group's Great Abidjan delivered in South Korea
13:12 European Parliament updates trans-European transport network guidelines
12:40 ClassNK releases route correction factors calculation tool "WACDAS"
12:10 MOL and Gaz System enter into agreement on FSRU project in Gdansk, Poland
11:31 Wartsila Gas Solutions to supply cargo handling system for a new 12.5k LNG bunkering vessel for Scale Gas
11:09 Wartsila secures China’s largest-ever methanol newbuild order
10:42 Valencia port community increases waste recovery by 75%
10:22 Kongsberg completes factory acceptance testing of the first production long-range autonomous underwater vehicle system HUGIN Endurance
09:53 Vladimir Putin: The BAM carrying capacity to reach nearly 42 million tonnes in 2024
09:47 Hanwha Ocean reports an operating profit of $38.6 mln on a consolidated basis in January-March 2024

2024 April 24

18:02 Incat to commence design study for new electric-hybrid ferry in partnership with DFDS
17:39 FESCO's 2023 revenue was up 6% Y/Y to RUB 172 billion
17:20 Peninsula adds chemical tanker Aalborg to supply in the Port of Barcelona
17:17 NCSP Group’s Q1 net profit rises 1.9 times to RUB 4.8 billion
17:03 AtoB@C Shipping reveals names for the rest of its new hybrid vessels
16:45 Red Sea conflict brings massive carbon emissions increases in ocean freight shipping
16:17 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs a 20-year lease agreement with the Georgia Ports Authority
15:46 AD Ports Group secures a 20-year agreement to operate and upgrade Luanda multipurpose port terminal in Angola
14:43 Hengli Heavy Industries receives an order for four bulkers from Ciner Shipping
14:27 TotalEnergies, OQ to launch $1.6bn LNG bunkering project in Oman
13:54 Major shipping companies may resume limited calls to the Port of Baltimore
13:10 HD HHI inks MOU with Philly Shipyard for US vessel MRO business
12:45 MSC adds King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam to its East Africa Express service
12:16 Norton Rose Fulbright advises Citibank on $450m facility for Danaos Corporation to acquire eight newbuild vessels
10:40 DEME and Jan De Nul build the foundation for an energy island on behalf of Elia Transmission
10:08 Salzgitter AG and Uniper SE sign pre-contract for the supply and purchase of green hydrogen
09:18 Norwegian Cruise Line and Fincantieri float out the first ship of the extended Prima Plus Сlass

2024 April 23

18:02 SFL acquires two LNG dual-fuel chemical carriers in combination with long term employment
17:31 Pioneering Spirit completes its first pipeline pull-ins in Kalsto, Norway
17:04 Valenciaport admits the four bids for the construction of the North Terminal
16:54 Vancouver welcomes its first resident battery electric tugs
16:24 Shanghai Port and Lianyungang Port strengthen partnership
15:44 WinGD to debut short-stroke engine design after successful shop test
15:24 Overseas Shipholding Group awarded federal grant to design marine transport for liquified CO2 captured by Florida’s largest emitters
14:53 H2Carrier to establish Norway's first integrated PtX and wind power project
14:23 IBIA and BIMCO sign collaboration deal
13:52 Container ship Xin Xin Shan arrested in Singapore
13:22 MOL to merge its subsidiaries in the Philippines
12:53 Haiti fuel terminal operations halted as gangs seize trucks
12:30 HHLA acquires interest in Austrian intermodal service provider Roland
11:42 South Korean yards built 500 LNG carriers for export in 30 years
11:19 Wartsila to provide a range of solutions for the six PCTCs being built for Sallaum Lines
10:36 Thecla Bodewes Shipyards successfully launches 'Vertom Anette’ for Vertom Group