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All funding for new oil, gas and coal supply projects must stop today if the world is to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a stark report issued last week on the urgent need to shift away from fossil fuels. The IEA said shipping is on track to be one of just a few transport sectors unlikely to be zero emissions in 30 years’ time. New variants of Covid-19 are immobilising entire crews, creating further panic and mayhem at sea, and highlighting the urgent need to get a global seafarer vaccination programme in place. Shipmanagement association InterManager secured this month an in-principle order with Johnson & Johnson for 1m one-shot Covid-19 vaccine doses for seafarers at a reduced rate. It is now seeking a government to give it the go-ahead for mass vaccinations. Many nations around the world have started to turn away crew who have visited the Indian sub-continent recently, placing further strain on the world’s seafaring community. Egypt announced plans to widen and deepen the southern part of the Suez Canal where the Ever Given containership ran aground blocking the waterway for six days in March. The Ever Given, owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen, remains under arrest in Egypt with disputes ongoing over compensation claims. The three-month old, 2,700 teu X-Press Pearl, carrying 25 tons of nitric acid, caught fire on Thursday off Colombo Port. Poor packaging of the acid was cited by the ship’s owner. An explosion yesterday forced the crew to evacuate. The ship is very likely to be declared a total constructive loss. America began to debate far reaching changes to maritime legislation in order to avoid repeats of the container snarl-ups that have plagued the nation’s supply chains all year. The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has voted to establish a National Shipper Advisory Committee, while the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL), a US trade association representing industrial freight transportation shippers, called on Congress to revise the Shipping Act of 1984, something the FMC said it might back. The FMC also said it will look into the issue of operating hours at the nation’s ports. Two Danish shipping companies – Evergas and Ultragas – joined forces in a joint venture called Dan-Unity CO2 to start shipping carbon dioxide. A number of Asian shipyards are bringing forward CO2 carrier designs with a view to commercialising them by the middle of the decade. Details emerged of Evergreen’s 23,992 teu Ever Ace, which will deliver from Samsung Heavy Industries in July. The bright green ship’s recently confirmed nominal intake of just shy of 24,000 boxes ensures it surpasses HMM’s latest series of megamaxes by just 28 teu to take the mantle of the world’s largest boxship. 133 yards with a combined capacity of 10.5m cgt representing 20% of global capacity are scheduled to deliver their last orders during 2021, according to a new report from Danish Ship Finance. Yards accounting for another 13m cgt are currently projected to run out of orders in 2022. The ten largest yard groups in the world now control more than 80% of the orderbook. The largest ship to date has had wind propulsion kit fixed to its deck. Pan Ocean’s 325,000 dwt Sea Zhoushan very large ore carrier newbuild, due to go on charter to Brazilian miner Vale, is now sporting five white, 25 m high Norsepower rotor sails across its huge deck. Vale suggested at least 40% of its long-term chartered fleet could be able to use the technology soon.

May 2021 Review

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