At this year’s Asian Tanker Conference the region’s ability to respond to the challenges currently facing the sector will come under the spotlight
The theme for this year’s Asian Tanker Conference is ‘Challenge’; how is the region coping with the challenges of new technologies, changing regulations, and regional and macro-level economic concerns.
Held at the spectacular Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the industry’s most influential shipowners, charterers, managers, technical experts and suppliers will be on hand to address these issues and to share their knowledge and expertise on operations and the commercial expectations for the year ahead.
Day one takes a macro-level view of the tanker industry and the challenges it faces, while day two homes in on the specifics and closes with what promises to be a fascinating roundtable discussion among shipowners.
In the first session, Banchero Costa Group’s global head of research, Ralph Leszczynski will take a high-level look at the tanker market before breaking the analysis down into the VLCC sector and the other crude oil tanker sectors. On the supply-side, the delivery schedule of the VLCC orderbook is not as heavy as it has been in recent years, but there is a distinct skew to the schedule.
Ralph Leszczynski (Banchero Costa): Will be looking at the outlook for the crude oil tanker market
On the demand-side, the reaction of crude oil importers to the threat (or reality of) trade wars could be a major driver of demand in 2019. Despite crude oil being excluded from tariffs in the China/USA trade spat, China has already effectively shut the door on US crude oil imports and found readily available sources elsewhere.
China is also going to extraordinary lengths to ensure the security of crude oil supply and that of other commodities by assembling military bases in the disputed regions of the China Sea. This is increasing tensions in the region.
Mr Leszczynski’s presentation on the crude oil market is followed by that of Braemar ACM Shipbroking regional head of tanker research, Anoop Singh, who will concentrate on IMO 2020 and why the product tanker market is expected to be the big (only) winner.
The first panel session is composed of experienced tanker professionals; AG Shipping & Energy’s founding director and global head Mangish Kakodkar has been a trader in the commodities markets for some time and that mentality stands him in good stead for the upcoming changes in 2020. Back in April 2018, AG Shipping & Energy Pte purchased the 2006-built MR2 product tanker Phoenix for a reported US$15M, with the express aim of taking advantage of the forthcoming global sulphur cap on marine fuel.
Capt Peter Raymond (BSM): instrumental in the development of Kairos, an LNG bunkering vessel
Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has invested in another option for 2020 marine fuel compliance – LNG. BSM’s managing director Capt Peter Raymond was instrumental in the development of Kairos, an LNG bunkering vessel.
Post-2020 compliance will be analysed by BV’s global market leader for tankers, Carlos Guerrero. He will give the class’ technical assessment of the regulations, before joining the following panel discussion on how the tanker industry can meet the following challenges:
Ballast water
While IMO 2020 is a global regulation with a one-size-fits all approach, ballast water treatment regulations have struggled along a tortuous passage through IMO for the best part of two decades, resulting in multiple standards across different jurisdictions.
It is the technicians and ballast water testers that need to know and understand the finer details of the regulations and the jurisdictional idiosyncrasies. The Asian Tanker Conference is fortunate to have SGS regional manager, Guillaume Drillet on hand to explain these processes further.
Based on the premise that EU waste should be recycled in the EU, the EU Ship Recycling Regulation will have a significant impact on the shipping industry. It is now time for tanker owners to introduce appropriate policies for the environmentally friendly end-of-life disposal of their assets.
On day two of the event we look to the future, in terms of progress towards digitalisation in the tanker industry and considering the transition from traditional processes to digital holistic engineering.
Hege Skryseth (Kongsberg Digital): Considering how tanker operators can best embrace digitalisation
This session examines future technologies and the application of big data analytics in the tanker industry and how best to apply digitalisation. Kongsberg Digital executive vice president Hege Skryseth leads the presentation in this area, followed by a case study from Alpha Ori chief business officer Sanjeev Namath and N2Tankers director Capt Madhu Vadakkepat.
The sixth and penultimate session of the event will focus on safety, including a detailed look at the latest safe mooring techniques in a presentation given by Samson Rope Technologies’ technical sales manager, Isaac Rosenberg.
The conference will conclude with the much-anticipated Tanker Industry Leaders Roundtable, where expert opinion will shed light on the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead. Roundtable participants will reflect on 2018 and share their thoughts and predictions for the tanker market in 2019, with a special emphasis on developments in Asia and Singapore.
For more information on the upcoming conference, please visit https://www.asiantankerconference.com/
To book your place now, click here: Asian Tanker Conference
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