Category: Shipping News

23-11-2022 Critical battle for Ukraine’s Kinburn Spit could free Mykolaiv port, By Adam Corbett, TradeWinds

A bid by Ukrainian forces to reclaim the strategically critical Kinburn Spit from Russian control could hold the key to freeing ships caught in the war-torn port of Mykolaiv. Vitaliy Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, told Interfax-Ukraine that successful reclamation of the three-mile-long strip of land running into the Black Sea in the south of the country would open the door for the port of Mykolaiv to join the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The Kinburn Spit controls the entrance to the Dnipro and Pivdennyi rivers and access to the port cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson.

Russian forces have used the Kinburn Spit to launch rocket and artillery attacks on Ukrainian-controlled areas on the Black Sea coast. At present, Kim said ships must sail close to the Kinburn Spit when they leave the port. “Geographically, our ships should sail a kilometer from the Kinburn Spit, which is dangerous now,” he said.

There are more than a dozen ships currently trapped in the port of Mykolaiv, mostly handysize bulk carriers, including the 25,900-dwt Mallard S (built 2010), 53,100-dwt Filia Joy (built 2009) and 29,100-dwt Oceanic Island (built 2009). There are several tankers also in the region, including the 46,600-dwt MTM Rio Grande (built 2007) and 38,000-dwt Harald Maersk (built 2009).

The only way for ships to leave Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is via the grain initiative. The current agreement only includes the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny. There was hope that the port of Mykolaiv, a major Ukraine grain export terminal, might be included when the grain initiative was recently renewed. But it was left out of the deal, which simply automatically renewed as it was for a further 120 days.

The infrastructure in the region, which has been at the centre of a fierce battle between Russian and Ukraine forces, is close to collapse following the fighting and targeting of Ukraine’s power generation, and the port of Mykolaiv is likely to have been severely damaged. Ukraine has been forced to order the evacuation of the recently liberated Kherson and Mykolaiv region in response to heavy Russian artillery fire and the onset of winter.

23-11-2022 MSC pulls out of bid to acquire stake in Italian airline, By Dale Wainwright, TradeWinds

Swiss liner giant Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has reportedly told Italian authorities that it is no longer interested in investing in ITA Airways as part of a planned privatization. In a short statement, MSC said it did not now see the right conditions for a deal in the current process, reported Reuters.

The Soren Toft-led shipowner had partnered with German airline Lufthansa earlier this year to bid for a stake in the Italian airline, the successor to Alitalia.

The world’s largest container ship owner had initially seen an investment as a way of expanding beyond its cruise and container shipping business. MSC had said the deal would help it expand into air cargo, a sector that has thrived during the pandemic. It announced in September that it was leasing four Boeing wide-body freighters as part of a move into that sector.

A Lufthansa spokesman recently said that it was still interested in buying into ITA despite reports that MSC had pulled out, reported Reuters. In August, Italy picked a group led by US private equity fund Certares, backed by Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines, for exclusive talks on buying a majority stake in ITA Airways. However, the exclusivity period expired in October with no deal reached, re-opening the door on a rival bid presented by Lufthansa and MSC.

MSC has been looking to new horizons to deploy its pile of cash earned in the container shipping boom. In August 2022, MSC was part of a consortium that launched a £3.7bn ($4.5bn) takeover bid for London-listed private hospital group Mediclinic. The bid is being led by Remgro, the investment vehicle of South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert. MSC president Diego Ponte said at the time that MSC was “very well placed to provide long-term capital, as well as our insight and experience from operating a global business in order to support the strategic ambitions of the Mediclinic management team”.

In April this year, MSC agreed to buy the African transport and logistics business of Bollore for €5.7bn ($6bn) including debt after acquiring a stake in Italian ferry operator Moby in March.

22-11-2022 Braemar Dry Bulk Research Update

India rolls back steel and coal duties

Indian authorities have reversed several duties for steel-related commodities introduced back in May, now that prices have eased. A 15% export duty levied on eight steel intermediate products, a 50% export duty on iron ore and concentrates, and a 45% export duty on pellets have been removed. Meanwhile, import duties of 2.5% on anthracite, coking coal, and ferro-nickel, and 5% on coke and semi coke that were removed in May have been brought back.

Indian steel exports (excl. scrap) have dropped off this year following a surge in exports in 2021. In the first ten months of 2022, exports totaled 3.8 MMT, down 62.6% YoY. October saw only three shipments totaling 93,000 tonnes discharging in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Italy, the lowest monthly volume since 2015. This is partly due to the export duties, but also a result of weaker global steel demand due to slowing economic activity. Strong domestic demand has also discouraged exports, with India the only major steel producer to realize growth in both production and demand so far in 2022. According to Worldsteel, demand is forecast to grow by 6.1% in 2022 and 6.7% in 2023, while output has increased by 6.1% YoY from January-October.

The removal of iron ore duties will benefit producers of low-grade iron ore that is not typically utilized in the country’s domestic steelmaking industry. Following the introduction of the levy in May, iron ore exports fell 82.3% YoY from June-October. Prior to the duties, China was India’s largest iron ore buyer, thus we do not expect a sharp revival in this trade as the Chinese steel industry remains weak. According to Worldsteel, Chinese crude steel production totaled 860 MMT in the first 10 months of 2022, a decrease of 2.2% YoY. Production did increase by 11% YoY in October, albeit from a low base.

Colombia’s coal exports improve in November but fresh blockades threaten rail links to ports

Colombian coal exports have picked up in November, and are on track to total 5.1 MMT for the month, an increase of 4.6% YoY. However, ongoing rail blockades out of mines, which started two weeks ago are threatening coal exports from the country. Earlier roadblocks resulted in Colombia’s coal exports falling by 10.5% YoY and 22% MoM  to 4.3 MMT in October. Exports in November, however, have improved as the previous situation has eased and volumes have made it to port, with loadings amounting to 170k tonnes per day, 21% higher than the average in October. Given the time taken from mine-to-port however, the fresh blockades could drive a similar effect on exports if the situation continues unresolved. Colombian miners have sought to take advantage of tight global supplies in 2022, increasing seaborne exports by 6.4% YoY from January-October. Turkey has been a major market for this coal, importing 1 MMT in October, an increase of 88% YoY. While Europe has been a significant buyer of Colombian coal in the latter half of the year, the blockades saw exports to Europe decline by 43% YoY to 900k tonnes in October, recovering to 1.6 MMT so far in November.

22-11-2022 New Violence and Clashes in China; Coronavirus Cases Have Climbed Even Further, Commodore Research & Consultanc

2,719 new daily coronavirus cases were reported in China today.  This marks the largest amount reported since April 29th.  As we have continued to stress, the current surge has been showing no signs of abating and no significant reopening has been likely to occur in the very near term.  The surge continues to hold back the Chinese economy to some extent, and this week videos of violence and clashes due to current coronavirus policies have also been making their way out of the country.

22-11-2022 S&P forecasts shipping rate recovery in 2024 after dip next year, By Gary Dixon, TradeWinds

Weakening sectors such as liner shipping are set for a return to pre-pandemic rate levels next year, but there could be a recovery in 2024, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The consultancy’s lead shipping analyst, Daejin Lee, said limited ship supply growth driven by new IMO efficiency regulations is likely to boost freight markets in the medium to long term. “Freight rates may return to the pre-pandemic level in 2023 with absence of congestion and weaker economic condition,” he added. “However, limited active supply growth driven by regulations, which will lead to vessel demolitions and speed reduction, may help the market to recover in 2024 onwards.”

Lee calculates that 95% of vessels in service are still using conventional fossil fuels, but with IMO carbon intensity rules coming into force next year, “many vessels” will end up scrapped earlier than is normally the case.

Newbuilding contracts last year reached the highest level since 2015, mainly through container ship ordering, but this was still below the numbers seen in the shipbuilding boom during the 2000s. And orders this year have been limited, Lee said, due to high prices and limited yard capacity.

“The container sector is expected to face pressure from supply side due to heavy investment in newbuildings, while fresh new contracts are limited in other sectors, including the dry bulker and tanker,” he said. The analyst said the IMO Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) will start to reduce sailing speeds from 2024, and the impact may become significant on scrapping activities from 2025.

“The CII rating issue would incentivize higher demurrage to reduce idling time and prevent further upside risk in congestion in coming years,” he added.

22-11-2022 John Michael Radziwill: buying bulker resales makes increasing sense, By Holly Birkett, TradeWinds

C Transport Maritime (CTM) has been buying and selling bulk carriers this year in plays that show the changing nature of opportunities in the sale-and-purchase market. CEO John Michael Radziwill told TradeWinds that CTM has acquired four bulkers as resales directly from Japanese owners. “All our fleet rejuvenation programme is from existing relationships in Japan. We’ve done several long-term deals,” he explained. The buys comprise two 82,000-dwt scrubber-fitted kamsarmaxes built to fuel-efficient designs, plus a 64,000-dwt ultramax built at Imabari Shipbuilding, which also comes with scrubbers. A capesize has also been acquired. The specific vessels were not identified. The quartet are all between one and three years old and will be split between two of CTM’s portfolio companies, likely CBC Holding and Carras Ltd. “We’re happy with the price that we achieved, and we’ll probably look to add on if things get a little bit worse in the market,” he said.

An interesting price spread is opening between older ships and newer, eco-vessels. Based on Clarksons data, in 2019 the difference between a 10-year-old, 180,000-dwt capesize and a resale was around $30m. Today, the difference is $24m, so increasingly it makes sense to pick up resales, according to Radziwill. “You’ll see us getting out of the older ships in a GoodBulk-type portfolio and going into the newer ships in another portfolio that is more long-term rather than total return, so to speak,” Radziwill explained. Within the group, capesize owner GoodBulk, CBC Holding and Carras Ltd focus on shipowning. On the asset-light side, CTM focuses on commercial management and Stone Shipping makes gains from arbitrage trades in chartering and derivatives.

Oslo-quoted GoodBulk has sold eight capesizes and a panamax in what it said was the strongest S&P environment in eight years for capesizes and in 11 years for panamaxes. The sales have helped the owner to pay the largest quarterly distribution to shareholders in its history, $2.25 per share for the third quarter. Radziwill describes GoodBulk as a “total return vehicle” and the formula has proven successful. The first round of investors have made 31% over their initial investment since the company’s inception in 2017. But while freight rates remain subdued and the first quarter will be seasonally weak, what can GoodBulk do to keep sharing the wealth with its shareholders? “Really tight risk management. We might sell ships. Again, we might buy ships if things get better,” Radziwill said. “But let’s say that the best way to deal with a bad market is not to be around, and the GoodBulk shareholders have that luxury because it could be one ship or 25 ships and they’ll still have the same scale, that same information, the same operational efficiency because they’re trading with the bigger CTM fleet. We use all the tools for risk management that are available for us: selling, chartering out, derivatives. Keeping your costs down, that’s a big one.”

Supramaxes have been the highlight for CTM in its commercial management activities this year, Radziwill said. “We’re pretty proud of the outperformance this year, especially in the first half of the year when we had a rising market, which is harder to outperform on,” he said. “The Capesize Chartering [Limited] pool, which we’re co-manager of, we’re unbelievably pleased with the performance there and the cooperation we have with our partners. And that’s been a real success story.” Alongside hints that GoodBulk will keep selling, its 14-vessel fleet is just over 12 years old on average and mostly not fitted with scrubbers. With weeks to go before new environmental regulations enter into force, clearly GoodBulk has work to do. “The jury’s still out if we’re going to put scrubbers on them or not. We decided a while ago not to put scrubbers, and, by the way, for most of their trading life with us it’s made sense not to have the scrubbers,” Radziwill said. “Having said that, the past year or so it’s been a different story. We’re always rethinking views and plans, but now we would probably just make them comply with the new regulations and continue trading them with our usual commercial strategy.” GoodBulk’s capesizes will remain focused on the spot market until time-charter rates move up. “China is really the ball and chain of this market right now. It’s one that is slowly and surely unravelling and I’m certain it will be substantially unraveled by the end of Q3 next year, if not sooner,” Radziwill said. The gradual relaxation of zero-Covid policies in China will boost consumer spending, economic growth, and industrial demand for commodities, enhanced by the fiscal stimuli to which China has already committed, he said. “And then, with the low [fleet] supply, inefficiency, I don’t know what it would be, can also come and change the picture pretty quickly. I don’t think we can go much farther down from here.”

21-11-2022 Liner operators prepare blank sailing ‘blitz’ in run-up to Christmas, By Ian Lewis, TradeWinds

Container lines are set to cancel a record number of sailings in the run-up to Christmas, to try to shore up sliding freight rates. Carriers are expected to blank two-thirds of sailings on the transatlantic and more than half on the transpacific in the pre-Christmas period. That compares with 38% on the Europe to Asia trade lane, according to data from freight tracking platform Project44. The moves reflect a disappointing peak season for carriers.

Freight rates on three major east-west trade lanes continued to plummet this week from highs earlier in the year of more than $15,000 per 40-foot equivalent unit (feu). Rates are $2,676 per feu on the Asia to US West Coast trade, around 80% lower than the same time last year, according to Freightos Baltic Index. Rates from Asia to the US East Coast (USEC) are $5,411 per feu, while those from Asia to North Europe are $4,204 per feu. On trades from Asia to the USEC and to Europe, rates are up to two-thirds lower than a year ago. That has resulted in leading liner operators unveiling further plans to limit capacity in the coming weeks.

AP-Moller Maersk, MSC and Zim are temporarily suspending a service between Vietnam and the USEC. The service used to turn in 10 weeks with 10 vessels of 5,100 teu to 6,650 teu, all provided by Zim. MSC, which along with its 2M partner Maersk co-loaded onto the service, said the loop is being closed to “adjust capacity in line with the slowing demand on the Asia-USEC network”. The last sailing on the service is the Global Ship Lease-owned, 5,936-teu Ian H (built 2000) from Cai Mep on 23 November.

The 2M partners also unveiled additional blank sailings on the Asia to North Europe trade. The two carriers will blank sailings at the end of the month of the 16,652-teu MSC London (built 2014) and 17,800-teu Edith Maersk (built 2007). MSC said the move is necessary “to adjust capacity in line with the slowing demand on the Asia to Europe trades”. Maersk is looking to balance the network “as a consequence of the forecasted reductions in global demand”.

The number of blank sailings has been ramped up drastically on the transpacific, but not so much on Asia to Europe, according to Danish analyst Sea-Intelligence. In the first two weeks of December, the average level of blank sailings is forecast to increase to 46% on the transatlantic and transpacific, but to fall to 33% on Asia to Europe trade, according to Project44. “We’re witnessing the normalization of the global supply chain,” said Project44 vice-president Josh Brazil. “It is evident that carriers are now shuffling the deck as the market shifts back to the shipper’s advantage.”

Carriers have not scheduled blank sailings for the last two weeks of the year due to uncertainty over how to approach the potential pre-Chinese New Year rush. “It appears more to be a wait-and-see approach, in terms of whether there will be a seasonal demand spike,” said SeaIntel.

21-11-2022 Fearnleys Newbuilding Update – November 2022

Key takeaways:

  • Prices continuing to firm at tanker yards, primarily Korea.
  • Chinese dry bulk builders there to discuss, expect them to lower pricing going forward (especially Kamsarmax and down) à however, once the market moves, they will lock in a floor.
  • Tanker (4.0%) and Bulker (7.2%) order books still at historically low levels. Renewal will start at some point!
  • Scrubbers still the favored choice for tanker enquiries.
  • Further container orders may push Afra (8-10k TEU orders) and Suez (12 – 16k TEU orders) deliveries at the big three into 2026, VLCCs are already there except for 2-4 slots end 2025.

Getting close to year end the usual rush to finalize newbuild deals is close to nonexistent. Even though rates have dropped drastically for containers the planned orders for larger series (24,000 teu and 15,000 teu) have gone through, with deliveries from 2026 to 2028. LNG orders have slowed down due to slots offered 4-5 years ahead and Owners reluctant to place orders that far into the future without back-to-back Time Charter Parties.

With regards to selection of fuel October was the first month where number of orders for methanol-fueled vessels surpassed the number of LNG-fueled vessels, we’ll call it an anomaly rather than a shift of trends for now.

We see that Korean yards in general are firm on their asking prices for most segments, not undercutting any previous orders even though enquiries for larger tonnage (Afra to VLCC) have been slow since summer. On the product side (MR) and LPG side (especially MGC) the yards have seen a large uptick in enquiries supported by the strong product and LPG markets, with added fuel to the fire from all the ammonia talks.

Slot availability is not only restricted by actual slots, which is why expectations that closed yards will open to accommodate early deliveries are unlikely at best. Yards in Korea, Japan and China are struggling to find manpower to construct already signed vessels, along with main equipment sourcing being another bottle neck.  

LNG

There are around 270 LNGCs in the current fleet with steam turbine or slow speed diesel propulsion, which will have to be replaced in the mid-term. These vessels will be much less favorable to trade with the upcoming environmental regulations, and the steamships are also significantly less economical due to their size and boil-off, which is enhanced by the high gas prices. 

The big three in Korea have already committed roughly 70% of their 2027 LNG build capacity to Mozambique and Qatar, with high likelihood of firming them up. With regards to Chinese LNG builders, there are now six-seven yards interested with firm orders on four of them (Hudong-Zhonghua, Jiangnan, Dalian and Yangzijiang). China Merchants, COSCO and New Times have still not taken orders, with COSCO and New Times being less eager for now.

We expect price to stay above the $ 250 m mark through 2023 at the four main yards, with increase at each order.

Tankers

Nothing new to report here other than the fact that tanker order book is getting slimmer by the day, with no additions to talk of. For VLCCs the total order book is at 35 vessels until 2026. Only 4 available 2025 slots world-wide. 170 VLCCs are older than 20 years by 2026, seen as scrapping candidates.

Suez and Afra can still be delivered in 2025, but we’re not talking volumes.

Bulkers

So far this year we have registered close to 700 order placements in the dry bulk segment. We expect ordering to increase next year, perhaps by a significant amount. Earnings have been at decade highs the last year and a half, whilst the orderbook has remained around all-time lows. This means that owners balance sheets in general are very solid, represented by low leverage ratios amongst almost all the stock listed companies.

Regarding the market outlook, our analysis is that fundamentals will start improving around the middle of next year onwards. China is stimulating their economy by means of interest rate cuts, tax cuts, infrastructure spending and doing their outmost to turn around the property sector. Further, it is likely that anti-COVID measures will be loosened from March onwards. We expect economic growth in the world ex-China to recover from the start of 2024 onwards. 

Shipyards, especially those with dry bulk focus, are in a wait and see state, trying to keep the pricing level they set before the summer. Latest order proves this, CMB recently did a repeat of the Newcastlemax order at $ 64 m, which is $ 2 m down from their order in March with a discount for the number of vessels (8 firm).

Containers

With a lot of cash on their hands, we expect between 20 and 30 more container vessels before years end in the size range 9,000 TEU to 15,000 TEU, both methanol and LNG dual-fueled.

Repeating ourselves from earlier, fears that container owners cancel or convert their ongoing newbuilds is unfounded looking at the existing fleet and ordered vessels. Orders are to a large extent set to replace older tonnage and meet new regulations; few speculative orders have been made.

LPG

A lot of fleet growth in 2023 and 2024, but limited for 2025, with yards sold out until end ’25 for VLGCs. The LPG segment has received a lot of interest over the summer due to growing ammonia interest, especially LGC and MGC enquiries.

We expect that the market will absorb the order book, and still see undersupply of tonnage. Expect to see a growing order book with earnings as they are.

18-11-2022 Ukraine Grain Exports, Howe Robinson

This week, the UN and Turkish government successfully negotiated a 120-day extension of the Black Sea trade corridor agreement which initially came into effect on August 1st. From the February 24th invasion till August, the Ukrainian grains market had experienced a near cessation in trade, first cutting short Ukraine’s corn export season, then delaying its wheat export season, but ultimately severely disrupting both. From Mar-Jul, only 1 MMT of Ukrainian corn and 1 MMT of wheat cargoes were shipped, compared to a combined 14 MMT in 2021. Dry Bulk vessel demand fell from 337 to only 32, resulting in 151 fewer Handies, 60 fewer Supras, 85 fewer Panamax, and 9 fewer Post-Panamax employed in Mar-Jul 22 y-o-y.

Ukraine may only account for 10% of total grains trade annually (2021: 50 MMT), but its 30 MMT of exports account for 20% of second half trade. Moreover, 15 MMT, or two-thirds of Ukraine’s total annual corn and wheat fronthaul shipments, were shipped in the second half last year. This 15 MMT of H2 fronthaul demand employed 276 Dry Bulk vessels (sans Mini bulkers). Only 46 Dry Bulk vessels carried Ukrainian fronthaul corn and wheat cargoes since 1st Aug 22, stranding at least 200 vessels in an already over-tonnaged Atlantic basin. The loss of Ukraine’s wheat trade has been particularly detrimental to the Supra/Ultra sector, which commands a majority of the 11 MMT of H2 fronthaul wheat trade. Since Aug 1st , however, only 4 Ultramax vessels have loaded fronthaul wheat cargoes compared to 40 cargoes last year.

The Kamsarmax sector has suffered a similar decline in Ukrainian grains fronthaul demand, and for mostly similar reasons, reduced stem sizes coupled with a greater share of short haul Atlantic demand benefits less fuel-efficient vessels. The total share of Atlantic trade stood at three-quarters as of November compared to less than half last year. Thus, Europe and N. Africa’s 3.8 MMT y-o-y decline to 5.9 MMT was eclipsed by the 6.7 MMT decline in fronthaul shipments to only 2 MMT from Aug-Nov, with long haul shipments to the F. East and SE Asia collapsing from 4.5 MMT to only 0.2 MMT.

Despite the obvious benefits of the UN’s extension of the Black Sea Corridor, there clearly exists an upward bound on its immediate benefit for the Dry Bulk market. The three Ukrainian port regions included in the UN export agreement have a combined throughput capacity of only 3 MMT per month, suggesting that Ukraine’s monthly demand in September and October describes its limit. More importantly, if the long-haul Pacific market continues to suffer as it has to the expense of greater market share to the Mediterranean and AG, then the next 120 days will do little to improve Dry Bulk fronthaul demand.

18-11-2022 Peter G’s return to shipping: ‘I’m happy…and I can’t even tell you why’, By Joe Brady, TradeWinds

One day in early 2018, Peter Georgiopoulos woke up with no role in a shipping company for the first time in 25 years. The man who once led five public shipowners saw his roles in dry bulk’s Genco Shipping & Trading, bunkering specialist Aegean Marine Petroleum and tanker owner Gener8 Maritime all disappear between the fall of 2016 and the end of 2017. His friends knew the exile wouldn’t last; friends assured TradeWinds at the time. Yes, Georgiopoulos always had other irons in the fire, but shipping was in his blood, they said. Not a matter of whether, just when and where.

As it turns out, the friends might have known him better than “Peter G” knew himself. Georgiopoulos admitted in an on-stage interview with Scorpio Tankers president Robert Bugbee on Thursday that he thought he might be done with shipping at that point. He was looking for the next big thing, a quest that indeed has led him to projects like a green methanol plant and on-board carbon-emissions detectors, with no clear vision that there would be another act in mainstream shipping. But that all changed by 2020 as Georgiopoulos and business partner Leo Vrondissis were laying the groundwork to acquire Dubai-based United Arab Chemical Carriers (UACC) in a deal ultimately disclosed in January 2021.

“I’m happy to be back in the business and I can’t even tell you why,” Georgiopoulos told Bugbee. “There’s something about this business. I grew up in it. My father was a maritime lawyer. In the last year I’ve bought another five ships. I guess I can’t help myself. I’m working on a lot of things. So no, this probably isn’t the end. It’s probably the middle.” Georgiopoulos spoke with TradeWinds on the sidelines of Thursday’s Marine Money conference in Manhattan following his discussion with Bugbee and offered some insights on his current ventures. Despite the tankers acquired in recent months, Georgiopoulos doesn’t see himself on a mission to build up the former UACC fleet, which is now run by his Athens-based United Overseas Group (UOG). “No, not necessarily,” Georgiopoulos said. “We’ve done some add-on acquisitions and we may do more, we may sell a few of the older ships, there’s no set plan right now. But there’s never been a set plan. It’s always take what the market gives us.”

Georgiopoulos also said he’d consider expanding his shipping role outside of the UOG vehicle. “Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “Again, if an opportunity came for instance in the dry bulk sector, we’d do it. Maybe within that company or maybe we set something new up. Or in any other sector. I’m just using that as an example.” TradeWinds reported in January 2021 that Georgiopoulos and Vrondissis also are lead investors in a proposed methanol production plant in the US Gulf under development by Houston-based IGP Methanol. The plant would be built in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. “The methanol plant is still in the very early stages,” Georgiopoulos said. “We’ve got the permits, we have the land, we have a lot of people interested in the off-take agreements and we’re working on all that, but it’s like a chicken and egg thing. To finance building the plant, you need the off-take agreement. The off-takers say, well, we’d like to see a plant before we give you a contract.” Georgiopoulos is nonetheless satisfied with progress and expects management to secure financing soon.

The other pet project is what he says would be the first product to deliver real-time reporting of vessel sulphur and carbon emissions. Georgiopoulos revealed his work on the device in March 2021. “It’s completely independent, self-powered, self-communicating. It measures carbon and we can also measure methane slip. And then it can also determine that a ship has switched over from high sulphur to low sulphur fuel in an eco-zone,” Georgiopoulos said. The device will be provided free to shipowners, who will pay a daily fee for the data generated. “I think it would be an invaluable device to have for charterers, for banks, for insurance companies to be able to see the real carbon emissions data, not a formula. And, for people like the Coast Guard to see when someone crosses that eco line, are they switching from high sulphur to low sulphur fuel? I bet you a lot of people aren’t.”

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