Business

Argus Media: Cop 27 unlikely to speed up maritime emissions cuts

Next UN Cop 27 climate conference in Egypt is unlikely to speed up IMO decisions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry.

Published

2 years ago

September 16, 2022

Admin

The next UN Cop 27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, is unlikely to speed up the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) decisions on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the shipping industry, just as Cop 26 pressure failed to do so last year.

The IMO's present strategy targets a 50pc reduction in overall GHG emissions by 2050 compared with 2008 levels, and a 70pc reduction in CO2 emissions over the same timeframe. Member countries are currently working towards revising the strategy by the middle of 2023. The Marshall Islands, which with Liberia and Panama have the three largest ship registries globally, does not expect Cop 27 discussions to directly affect the work of the 79th Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in December. Liberia's Maritime Authority marine environmental protection director Daniel Tarr says he hopes that the discussions at Cop 27 will push the IMO to act, although he also cautions that the most progress he sees happening at December's IMO meeting is a non-binding agreement on a set of more ambitious targets.

Around 10,000 vessels are registered in Liberia and the Marshall Islands, with the latter a major tanker fleet registry. Flag states have responsibility for implementation and enforcement of maritime laws, which means they have to ensure ships under their registries are compliant with the IMO strategy. In the first days of Cop 26 last year, the Marshall Islands led the declaration on zero emission shipping by 2050, with the US and Denmark, and the support of Danish container ship firm Maersk. Other initiatives born during Cop 26 added to pressure on the IMO to revise its emission strategy before 2023. These include the Clydebank declaration for green shipping corridors, which sought to establish at least six zero-emission maritime routes between two or more ports by 2025, and the First Movers Coalition.

If at first you don't succeed

Although Cop 26 brought about ambitious goals for the shipping sector and despite the pressure to do more, IMO member countries have so far failed to agree to speed up the revision process, let alone the setting of new emissions targets. The Marshall Islands, with Kiribati and Solomon Islands submitted a resolution for the 77th IMO environmental committee meeting, which followed Cop 26, to commit to zero GHG emissions in shipping by 2050, but it failed to gain support. And in June, IMO's 78th committee meeting faltered in its attempts to update its emission targets and decide on mid to long-term measures to reduce emissions. Divisions emerged between states over the impact of more ambitious targets, with some states refusing outright to countenance a total phase-out of emissions by 2050. Decisions at the IMO need to be taken unanimously.

But the UN climate conference and some of its initiatives are continuing to influence the IMO debate. A World Shipping Council paper presents three suggestions to IMO members ahead of the December meeting. One of these suggestions is to build on existing initiatives and develop an IMO "green corridors programme", which would draw on Cop 26's Clydebank declaration. Partnerships between Rotterdam and Singapore, as well as Los Angeles and Shanghai, Canadian Great Lake ports, and European Baltic ports have been announced following the 2021 declaration, although none of these has committed to the 2025 target. The World Shipping Council also proposed reducing the number of steps in the GHG fuel standard goals — a mid-term measure proposed by a group of European countries in March that seeks to establish a measure of GHG intensity in marine fuels — and using a well-to-wake lifecycle assessment for benchmarking emissions.

By James Marriott

Photo credit and source: Argus Media
Published: 16 September 2022

Legal

Shell MGO bunker heist: Bunker clerk gets jail time for helping Sentek acquire misappropriated fuel

Wong Wai Meng was sentenced to seven years, four months and two weeks’ jail on 10 January for helping the company acquire more than 28,000 mt of the misappropriated fuel worth USD 13.58 million.

Published

12 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Admin

A bunker clerk, who was previously employed by Sentek Marine & Trading (Sentek), was sentenced to seven years, four months and two weeks’ jail for helping the company acquire more than 28,000 metric tonnes (mt) of the misappropriated fuel worth USD 13.58 million (SGD 18.26 million), The Straits Times reported on Friday (10 January).

Wong Wai Meng, was working for Singapore-based firm Sentek at the time of the offences.

Wong, who received more than USD 286,000 from the company for his assistance, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to 12 counts of intentionally helping the company acquire the misappropriated fuel.

He committed the offences over 46 occasions between August 2014 and December 2017.

Wong is among the three bunker clerks previously employed by Sentek, who were charged for offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Another bunker clerk among the three charged, Wong Kuin Wah, 61, was sentenced to seven years and six months’ jail on 18 November for his role in misappropriating more than 27,000 tonnes of gas oil worth around USD 12.8 million (SGD 17.2 million).

The third individual who was charged, Boo Pu Wen, reportedly passed away in July 2023 and had his charges abated following his death, meaning Boo’s court proceedings over his 19 charges at the time came to an end.

Former Shell employees, who were key members of a group who dishonestly misappropriated fuel from Shell Pulau Bukom, were sentenced to jail in court earlier.

Earlier coverage of developments by Manifold Times regarding the Shell MGO bunker heist can be found below:

Photo credit: Katrin Bolovtsova
Published: 13 January, 2025

Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator issue notice of intended dividend for Parakou Shipping

Creditors will need to produce proofs of debt to liquidator of Parakou Shipping by 24 January, according to Government Gazette notice.

Published

13 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Admin

A notice to declare intended dividend of Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd to its creditors has been posted on the Government Gazette on Friday (10 January).

The following are the details of the notice of intended dividend for the first dividend:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)

Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 16 Collyer Quay, #30-01, Singapore 049318

Last Day of Receiving Proofs : 24 January 2025 (if not already lodged)

Name of Liquidator : Cameron Duncan

Address : c/o KordaMentha, 16 Collyer Quay, #30-01, Singapore 049318

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 13 January, 2025

Alternative Fuels

DNV: LNG dominates alternative-fuel vessel orderbook for 2024

According to DNV, LNG was the industry’s alternative fuel of choice by year-end; 264 LNG vessel orders were placed in 2024, over double that of 2023 which was 130 orders.

Published

13 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Admin

The maritime industry’s exceptional newbuilding year 2024 drove a significant rise in orders for alternative-fuelled vessels, according to the latest data from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insights (AFI) platform.

A total of 515 such ships were ordered, representing a 38% year-on-year increase compared to 2023, underscoring the industry's growing commitment to decarbonization.

The growth in alternative-fuelled vessel orders has been heavily driven by the container and car carrier newbuild boom over the last three years. In 2024, 69% of all container ship orders were for ships capable of being powered by alternative fuels, driven by cargo owners responding to consumer demands for more sustainable practices and liner companies preparing to replace older tonnage. The preferred fuel choice for this segment was LNG (67%). In total the container and car carrier segments made up 62% of all alternative fuel orders in 2024.

Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime at DNV, said: “As we work towards decarbonizing the industry, we are encouraged by the growth in alternative fuel vessels over the past few years. While recent figures are promising, we must keep pushing forward.”

“The technological transition is underway, but supply of alternative fuel is still low. As an industry we need to work with fuel suppliers and other stakeholders to ensure that shipping has access to its share of alternative fuels in the future. It is also important that the safety of seafarers is ensured as we make this transition. This will require investment in upskilling and training.”

LNG was not the only fuel on shipowners’ minds as 2024 saw them betting on multiple alternative fuels. 166 methanol orders were added (32% of the AFI orderbook), reflecting shipping’s growing interest in a diverse fuel pool as it strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these methanol orders (85) were in the container segment.

While methanol drove newbuilding orders for alternative-fuelled vessels at the beginning of the year, LNG was the industry’s alternative fuel of choice by year-end. The number of LNG vessel orders placed in 2024 was 264, over double that of 2023 (130).

Ammonia saw promising momentum in the earliest months of the year and continued to grow throughout 2024. A total of 27 orders were placed for ammonia-fueled vessels. The first non-gas carrier ammonia-fuelled vessels orders were placed in 2024 (10), mainly in the bulk carrier segment (5). While still in its early stages, this provides further evidence of ammonia's emergence in the alternative fuel market.

Deliveries and bunkering

The number of LNG-fuelled ships in operation doubled between 2021 and 2024, with a record number of deliveries (169) in 2024. By the end of 2024, 641 LNG-powered ships were in operation. According to the AFI orderbook, this number is expected to double by the end of the decade.

While the bunkering infrastructure for some alternative fuels remains underdeveloped, LNG bunkering is maturing. The number of LNG bunker vessels in operation grew from 52 to 64 over the last year, with continued growth expected in 2025. The significant gap between LNG bunkering supply and demand is expected to widen over the next five years based on the AFI orderbook.

Addressing this challenge by developing the appropriate infrastructure for alternative fuels – both for vessels and bunkering - can create demand signals to stimulate long-term fuel production. With the EU regulatory package, Fit for 55, setting requirements on a large network of ports to have LNG bunkering infrastructure, it is expected that the availability of LNG in ports will increase.

Jason Stefanatos, Global Decarbonization Director at DNV, said: “Market conditions, infrastructure development, fuel production updates, and cargo owners' needs are all shaping the demand for different fuels, both in the short and long term.”

“The shifting trends in LNG and methanol orders this year might be due to the slow development of green methanol production. In the long run, green methanol has potential to be part of the energy mix along with ammonia.”

“In parallel, LNG offers a vital bridging fuel option benefiting from existing infrastructure and short-term emissions reductions while being capable of acting as a long-term solution as well, assuming RNG (Renewable Natural Gas) will be available and provided at a competitive price.”

Photo credit: DNV
Published: 13 January, 2024