Biofuel from pine needles a reality

Pine needles will no longer be a source of forest fires causing losses worth crores every year as scientists at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Nauni have devised a method to convert these into enthanol, a green biofuel. The scientists of the Department of Basic Sciences had been on the mission

Complying with EEXI – how to speed up decarbonisation without slowing down vessels

How can shipowners comply with the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and improve the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) of a vessel without reducing sailing speeds? In this article we take a closer look at the potential routes for compliance and the alternative technologies available to improve energy efficiency. In June this year, the IMO’s

Novatek Charters Four LNG Carriers from MOL

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has announced that, through a subsidiary, it has signed time charter contracts for four newbuilding LNG carriers with NOVATEK Gas & Power Asia Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia’s Novatek. The vessels will be constructed at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME), and are slated for

August bunker sales rise 2.5% on month, miss estimates

Bunker sales in August at the UAE’s Port of Fujairah, the world’s third largest bunkering hub, rose 2.5% on the month to over 700,000 cu m for the first time in 2021, according to Sept. 15 data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone provided exclusively to S&P Global Platts. But the sales still missed estimates,

Brazil sugarcane harvest failure hampers biofuels growth, raises refinery runs

The Center-South Brazil 2021-22 sugarcane harvest is proving to be one of the most challenging seasons on record. On top of a prolonged drought — the worst in almost a century — the sugarcane crop has been recently impacted by three waves of frost. S&P Global Platts Analytics reduced the cane supply forecast to the

European Energy to fuel Maersk ships with green methanol

European Energy is collaborating with Maersk on a green methanol project in Denmark that will use solar generated electricity to produce the fuel stock. European Energy subsidiary Reintegrate is working with shipping group Maersk, which will use the e-methanol to operate one of its vessels. REintegrate and European Energy will establish a new Danish facility

LNG shipments to Europe might not cover strong winter demand

Europe’s vast network of liquefied natural gas terminals can’t save it from a winter supply crunch. LNG supplies entering European grids in July fell to the lowest for that month in three years and the outlook for this month is even grimmer. Just one cargo is scheduled to arrive in the UK in August and

Asian HSFO markets firm on higher power, bunker demand

The backwardation in the Asian 180cst and 380cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) markets has widened to multi-month highs, driven by higher power generation and bunker fuel demand. The backwardation in 180cst HSFO markets, or the premium of prompt prices to forward values, widened from $5.75/t on 3 August to over a nine-month high of $6/t

Monjasa Acquires Tanker to Serve Burgeoning West African VLSFO Market

DWT tanker, acquired from Neste in Finland and now renamed as Monjasa Trader, left the Port of Rotterdam on 15 August and is now heading for Lomé in West Africa. Announcing the acquisition of the tanker, Monjasa highlighted the increasing local availability of very low sulphur oil in West Africa. The ‘high quality’ product is

Russian H1 2021 bunker sales drop 20%

Russian marine fuel sales declined by 20 per cent to about 2.4mn t in the first half of the year, from 3.1mn t during the same period last year, but demand was mixed at the different coasts. Overall Russian demand fell amid strong price competition from other international ports, tighter product availabilities and adverse weather