Cosco Shipping on Thursday (7 December) said it has signed  a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with bp to expand their scope of strategic cooperation into new areas on 5 December in Shanghai.

“This includes Castrol Marine lubricants and hydrocarbons transportation, offshore equipment as well as exploring collaboration opportunities in areas such as methanol supply for bunkering and offshore wind supply chain,” Cosco said. 

“Together, both parties will further capitalize on the business advantages of both parties, enhance synergies, and achieve complementary advantages and common development.”

William Lin, bp Group Executive Vice President, and Lin Ji, Executive Vice President of COSCO SHIPPING, witnessed the signing. Simon Yang, bp Group Senior Vice President and bp China President, and Chen Wei, Deputy Head of the Operations Division of COSCO SHIPPING, signed the document on behalf of the two parties.

Cosco said bp has been operating in China since the early 1970s and is one of the leading foreign-invested companies in China’s energy industry. 

“bp and Cosco Shipping have a longstanding history of cooperation, including the transportation of energy products, offshore equipment manufacturing services, and the supply of marine fuels and lubricants,” it added. 

Photo credit: Cosco Shipping
Published: 11 December, 2023

A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) on Thursday (7 December) said it was about to launch the first of its 18 large methanol-enabled vessels currently on order. 

On 9 February 2024, the ship will enter service on the AE7 string connecting Asia and Europe, which includes port calls in Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo and Hamburg, with Ningbo, China, being its first destination.

“The container vessel built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea has a nominal capacity of 16,000 containers (TEU) and is equipped with a dual-fuel engine enabling operations on methanol as well as biodiesel and conventional bunker fuel,” the firm said. 

Maersk added it has secured sufficient green methanol to cover the vessel’s maiden voyage and continues to work diligently on 2024-25 sourcing solutions for its methanol-enabled vessel fleet.

“Deploying the first of our large methanol-enabled vessels on one of the world’s largest trade lanes, Asia - Europe, is a landmark in our journey towards our Net-Zero target. With the vessel’s capacity of 16,000 containers, this will make a significant impact in our customers’ efforts to decarbonise their supply chains, and we are looking forward to introducing more methanol-enabled vessels on this and other trades during 2024,” Karsten Kildahl Chief Commercial Officer at Maersk, said. 

Ahead of its deployment, the vessel will be named at the shipyard in end January 2024. The following two sister vessels will be deployed in the first half of 2024 with naming events taking place in Yokohama, Japan, and Los Angeles, USA. Maersk said it was expected to take delivery of four additional sister vessels in the second half of 2024.

At the time of deployment of the first large vessel, it will be the only second container vessel in the world that can sail on green methanol, the first being the feeder vessel Laura Maersk which entered service in September this year.

Overview of Maersk vessels on order

• Maersk has 24 container vessels on order
• All vessels currently on order will be equipped with dual-fuel engines and will be able to operate on green methanol
• 12 of the vessels on order have a capacity of 16,000 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit containers)
• 6 of the vessels on order have a capacity of 17,000 TEU
• 6 of the vessels on order have a capacity of 9,000 TEU
• Since 2021, Maersk has had a policy of only ordering new vessels able to operate on green fuels

About Maersk’s AE7 service string

• The AE7 string connects Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal
• The AE7 string has the following port calls: Ningbo, Shanghai, Nansha, Yantian (all China), Tanjung Pelepas (Malaysia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Port Tangiers (Morocco), Felixstowe (UK), Hamburg (Germany), Antwerp (Belgium), London Gateway (UK), Le Havre (France), Port Tangiers, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Jebel Ali (UAE)

Photo credit: A.P. Moller - Maersk
Published: 11 December, 2023

Since Brazilian petroleum firm and bunker supplier Petrobras shifted from posted bunker prices to indicative prices, Santos’ VLSFO discounts to Brazilian and foreign ports have narrowed.

Petrobras started issuing indicative bunker prices for Brazilian ports on 1 November, shifting from its usual pricing mechanism of posted prices. These posted prices were mostly fixed in nature, and did not tend to change despite movements in underlying crude values.  

With a new pricing mechanism now in place, Petrobras bunker prices can change anytime throughout the day and final prices will depend on enquiries, a source says. The new pricing has been reflected in Brazilian bunker price dynamics.

Santos’ VLSFO price discount to Zona Comun’s VLSFO has come down from peak levels of $50/mt in September to around $35/mt in October and November and has further slid to just $4/mt.

VLSFO prices have also changed rapidly between Brazilian ports in recent weeks. Rio Grande’s VLSFO premium over Santos momentarily shrunk from nearly $40/mt in November to just $8/mt earlier this week, but then widened back to $42/mt.

Some argue that Petrobras decided to change the pricing mechanism because of the rise in competition in the Brazilian market. In recent months, several suppliers such as Ipiranga and Bunker One have expanded their Brazilian bunker operations, offering new grades and entering new ports in Brazil. Raizen also started VLSFO supply in the port of Itaqui and São Luiz in July this year.

Another source says that competition is mostly between Brazilian ports - as opposed to with foreign ports. Ships calling in Brazil will be able to pick and choose bunker-only ports with the best offers. Meanwhile, those vessels calling in Argentina will ideally pick bunkers from Zona Comun rather than Brazilian ports, the source adds.

By Nithin Chandran

Source: ENGINE
Photo credit: Gabriel Martins on Unsplash
Published: 11 December, 2023