New regulations to navigate, decarbonisation and redrawn trading patterns were some of the dominant themes of 2022 in Tanker Shipping & Trade, says editor Craig Jallal
The top stories in 2022 in Tanker Shipping & Trade draw heavily from insights gleaned from Riviera Maritime Media’s own conferences and encompass decarbonisation, regulation and the impact of monumental geopolitical events over the course of the year.
Donsö Shipping Meet 2022
Attending the Donsö Shipping Meet 2022 was one of the highlights of 2022 for Tanker Shipping & Trade. This event is invitation only and takes place on the island of Donsö, which is home to some of the most forward-thinking tanker owners in the world. It was here that Ektank, Shell Shipping and Maritime, and DNV announced Hy-Ekotank, a hydrogen-powered tanker concept.
It was also an opportunity to talk to the next generation of tanker owners, and to understand how important the preservation and enhancement of the environment is to these Swedish families whose business is predicated on the carriage of hydrocarbons.
Chemical & Product Tanker Conference
Riviera Maritime Media’s inaugural Chemical & Product Tanker Conference took place in April 2022. The event attracted vessel operators, charterers, regulators, class and flag and will be run again in 2023. There were many interesting presentations and debates with the chemical market analysis led by chemical carrier analysis guru Charles Lawrie and an assessment of the product tanker market by EA Gibson director Richard Matthews.
Tanker Shipping & Trade Conference Athens
In 2021, Tanker Shipping & Trade held its first live conference, exhibition and awards in Athens and its return in 2022 also proved to be such a success. Most of the presentations will be covered in the December /January 2023 issue of Tanker Shipping & Trade (for your own copy subscribe here).
Topics most talked about: SIRE 2.0 and EEXI / CII
There were two themes in common to both the Chemical & Product Tanker Conference and the Tanker Shipping & Trade Conference in Athens. The forthcoming introduction of SIRE 2.0 inspections and IMO decarbonisation regulations of EEXI and Carbon Intensity Index (CII).
SIRE 2.0 is to be phased in by stages and at both conferences, representatives from OCIMF took to the stage to explain the new inspection procedures and technology and answer questions directly from concerned tanker owners and operators.
CII and EEXI enter into force 1 January 2023 and were developed under the framework of the initial IMO strategy on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships agreed in 2018. The technical and operational amendments are aimed at requiring energy efficiency improvements and reductions in overall GHG emissions from the global shipping fleet.
But there are many concerns from tanker owners and operators on how ’fair’ the calculations are for trades some tankers undertake and how to maintain or lower CII ratings. This will be an issue that will continue into 2023 and beyond.
Tanker trades in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Sadly, another issue impacting the tanker trades that looks likely to continue into 2023 and beyond, is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to press reports from Ukraine, captured documents show the invasion was expected to accomplish the overthrow of democratic rule in Ukraine and the installation of a puppet regime in 10 days after crossing the border in February 2022, leaving lingering questions. Had the 10-day takeover occurred, would the EU and the West have accepted it? Would the level of sanctions on Russia in place today have happened? The impact has been to change the accepted pattern of trades in the tanker sector, and this will continue to evolve as more sanctions and penalties are introduced to limit the impact of the ’dark fleet’ of tankers that are suspected of being used to deliver Russian oil and oil products.
