Tuesday, March 14, 2023

 

S5 Agency World Helps Support Launch 2 New Methanol-Powered Vessels

S5 Agency World & Proman Stena Bulk’s new methanol-powered vessels
S5 Agency World & Proman Stena Bulk’s new methanol-powered vessels

PUBLISHED MAR 14, 2023 3:09 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

World-leading port services provider S5 Agency World (S5) today announces it has begun providing global hub and port agency support to Proman for its first methanol-fueled tankers.

S5 successfully coordinated two new methanol-powered vessels Stena Pro Patria and Stena Pro Marine – for their first call at the Port of Ulsan.

With more than 360 port-owned offices strategically located in all major maritime hubs, S5 can facilitate port calls worldwide with its global reach. Through its technological advancements, S5’s digital hub solution Simply5 ensures every client has a tailored strategy, while ensuring vessels' activities can be optimised and port calls can be executed more sustainably.

S5’s experience and expertise, in the marine fuels sector and understanding of the technical challenges, means it can provide high-quality port services for Proman and Proman Stena Bulk’s new methanol-powered vessels.

As the methanol market continues to evolve globally and more terminals come online, the ongoing challenge for gas carriers will be to ensure they take a strategic approach to time management that allows them to operate vessels efficiently. Using a digital hub solution to manage port calls will ensure S5’s customers can make real-time decisions to optimise their vessels’ performance.

Jason Berman, Chief Commercial Officer at S5 Agency World, commented: “We are delighted to strengthen our long partnership with one of the largest methanol producers in the world and extend our services to its new and growing low-emission joint venture fleet. Our digital solutions, expertise and local knowledge will help Proman to deliver its cargo safely and efficiently at every port call they make worldwide.”

Digitalisation, through the implementation of software to manage port agency processes, eliminates errors in paperwork that arise when port calls are managed in offline silos. By streamlining workloads and ensuring commercial information is readily available to those that need it, S5 works with partners to reduce operating costs, increase efficiencies, and improve profitability on every port call.

Anita Gajadhar, Proman’s Executive Director for Marketing,  Logistics and Shipping, said: "S5 makes the lives of our vessel operations teams easier with its global hub solution. S5’s experience and global hub solution allow a harmonious synergy between our commercial operations and technical operations, ensuring all our port calls are managed safely and efficiently. We look forward to continuing to work with S5 as our methanol-fuelled fleet grows.”

S5 has worked with Proman for more than a decade, integrating its technology solutions into Proman’s finance and operations software and acts as a key partner to the business in its operations.

http://www.http://s5agencyworld.com

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

Norwegian Cruise Line Modifies Future Ships for Methanol

Norweigan methanol cruise ships
Norwegian Viva is the second ship of the class with the fifth and sixth to be prepared for future methanol operations (Fincantieri)

PUBLISHED FEB 28, 2023 5:47 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Norwegian Cruise Line is moving forward with plans to begin adapting its newbuilds for the future use of methanol as their primary fuel. The cruise line company told investors during its quarterly update today that it has agreed to design changes with Fincantieri to prepare two cruise ships due for delivery in 2027 and 2028 to accommodate the emerging alternate fuel that would address carbon emissions.

The cruise line said it has agreed to a total of €1.2 billion in additional contract costs to modify a total of four cruise ships being built by the Italian shipyard as part of Project Leonardo, now known as the Prima class. The first ship of the class, Norwegian Prima (143,535 GT) was introduced in August 2022 and she will be followed by a sister ship Norwegian Viva scheduled to begin cruising in August 2023.

Previously, the cruise line reported that it would be increasing the capacity of the four later cruise ships of the class. The design change calls for lengthening the cruise ships from their original 981-foot length by 72 feet increasing passenger capacity to 3,550 people. Today, Norwegian said the third and fourth ships will be about 10 percent larger or a total of approximately 158,000 GT.

“Additional modifications to the final two ships in this class will accommodate the use of green methanol as an alternative fuel source,” Norwegian reported. The fifth and sixth ships will be about 20 percent larger than the first two, or a total of approximately 172,000 GT, to accommodate the changes to prepare the ships for methanol.

“While additional modifications will be needed in the future to fully enable the use of methanol in addition to traditional marine fuel on these ships, this reinforces the company’s commitment to decarbonization,” writes Norwegian. The company is currently working to secure additional export-credit agency-backed financing to cover the costs before finalizing the design changes.

Previously, Norwegian had said it was planning tests and looking to install methanol tanks on some of its cruise ships. The company is working with MAN on a project to retrofit a medium-speed MAN 48/60 engine to make it capable of dual-fuel diesel/methanol operation. CEO Harry Sommer suggested last fall that the company might start by operating ships with methanol when in port, while also looking to incorporate methanol-ready tanks into its future cruise ships.

Construction on the first methanol-ready cruise ship began in 2022 at Meyer Turku in Finland. Germany’s TUI Cruises said that it was adapting the design of its new ship Mein Schiff 7 so that the vessel would be methanol ready when it enters service in 2024. Disney Cruise Line has also said that it expects that the acquired cruise ship Global Dream would operate on methanol when it is introduced in 2025.

Norwegian decided unlike other cruise lines to forgo LNG-fueled newbuilds and instead focus its longer-term strategy on methanol. At the same time, the cruise line said it has already completed tests on three of its ships using biofuel blends. They tested 30 percent biofuel/70 percent marine gas oil (MGO) aboard the Norwegian Star, Norwegian Sun, and Norwegian Epic during November and December 2022.

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