Keynote address from the Chemical & Product Tanker Industry Leader Award winner 2023

The International Chemical & Product Tanker Industry Leader Award 2023 is presented to an individual who in the opinion of the Riviera editorial team has made a contribution of outstanding significance to the international chemical/product tanker industry over the last 12 months.

Sponsored by:

Maren Schroeder, Managing Director, ST Management, Stolt Tankers

Award presented by Peter Raaijmakers, Corporate Manager Technics, MarFlex Europe

Why global chemical tanker trades are finely balanced

• Market fundamentals: a decrease in supply or an increase in demand
• The order-book. Tonne-mile trade. Steaming speeds and speed reductions. 
• Predicting the return of MR tankers to the chemical carrier segment
• The trades: petrochemicals; vegetable and fats; acids and inorganic
• Just how buoyant are biofuels?
• Second-hand stainless steel and other chemical tanker asset classes
• Where to make money in this segment in 2023/2024

Geopolitical disruption and the product tanker sector’s perfect storm

• Forecasting how long today’s extreme freight rates will last
• The 5 February ban on EU imports of Russian crude and petroleum products
• The dark fleet and ship to ship transfers of Russia-origin product
• Can tankers operate outside established markets in full compliance with class, insurance regulatory and technical requirements?
• Why the clock is ticking on low inventories and low newbuilding orders
• Tonne-mile trade. Steaming speeds. Port congestion.
• The newbuilding and second-hand markets
• Where to make money in this segment in 2023/2024

Niklas Bengtsson, Director, Partner, maritime-insight

Christopher Pålsson, Managing Director, Partner, maritime-insight

Tanker pooling as a singular solution for the sector

• Is tanker pooling only proven in a low market?
• Vital transparency in an increasingly opaque market
• Does environmental regulation bolster the case for pooling?
• Do pool earnings eclipse spot earnings in the long run?

Q&A

Networking coffee break in the exhibition area

Panel presentations

Maren Schroeder, Managing Director, ST Management, Stolt Tankers

Catrine Vestereng, Senior Vice President & Business Director Tankers, Maritime, DNV

Q&A

Lightning talks: New tech solutions for chemical and product tankers 

Three, ten-minute talks will run consecutively. Each talk will comprise ten slides. Delegates are able to follow up with the presenters directly at their stands. Our Lightning Talks debuted at Riviera’s LNG Shipping & Terminals Conference in November 2022 and were a huge hit with presenters and audience alike.

Networking lunch break in the exhibition area

Maturing alternative fuel pathways for tankers: the main opportunities and challenges

Today our industry uses ~300 million tonnes of fossil fuel oil to produce ~12.6 EJ of energy, emitting more than 1 gigatonne of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We must replace fossil fuel oil with low-GHG alternatives to reach our decarbonization goals. An introduction to the main alternative fuel pathways and their maturity levels as well as overview of the main opportunities and challenges for alternative-fuelled tankers will be presented including:

• Main alternative fuels
• Fuel pathway maturity mapping
• Fuel production, bunkering and logistics
• Onboard fuel storage
• Vessel emissions
• Recommended actions for vessel owners and operators

Thomas McKenney, Head of Ship Design,

How and why Ammonia gives tankers a CO2 advantage

The first ammonia-fuelled tanker is due to launch in 2025, giving tankers an advantage in reducing CO2 emissions and meeting GHG regulations. Class societies are approving ammonia-fuelled tanker designs and engine OEMs are identifying the engineering changes needed to use ammonia as a fuel in an internal combustion engine.

• Overview of ammonia-powered tankers
• Retrofitting and newbuilding considerations
  Power and propulsion
• Operational considerations including crew training, maintenance, and repair
• Regulatory considerations, including Flag State requirements
• Capex and Opex considerations
• The charterer’s perspective
  

Sven Rolfsen, Naval Architect, Breeze Ship Design

Methanol-powered chemical and product tankers: coming of age

Last year was a landmark year for methanol-fuelled ships and in particular tankers. 
Proman Stena Bulk, the joint venture between tanker company Stena Bulk and methanol producer Proman, took delivery of its fourth methanol-fuelled tanker, Stena Prosperous. 
Globally, the orderbook of methanol-fuelled ships is on a steep rise. What prospect is there of doubling of the fleet in 2023?

• Overview of methanol-fuelled tankers and methanol bunker vessels
• Retrofitting and newbuilding considerations
• Power and propulsion
• Operational considerations including crew training, maintenance, and repair
• Regulatory considerations, including Flag State requirements
• Capex and opex considerations
• The charterer’s perspective

Julien Boulland, Commercial department – Market leader Sustainable shipping, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore

Lessons learned from a tanker operator pioneer of the use of LNG as a marine fuel/strong

This paper explores the lessons learned from a pioneering tanker operator’s experience in adopting LNG as a marine fuel. The paper takes a candid and honest approach to highlight the challenges that were encountered, as well as the successes that were achieved. 

• What motivated the decision to adopt LNG as a marine fuel 
• Challenges faced during the transition, including technical, operational, and regulatory issues
• The impact of the adoption of LNG on the company’s operations and financial performance
• Recommendations for other operators considering adopting LNG as a marine fuel
• If I could do it all again... 

Krystyna Tsochlas, Managing Director, James Fisher Tankships

Scaling up hydrogen and associated tanker market opportunities

• Hydrogen as a decarbonisation pathway
• A comparison of hydrogen and other alternative low carbon fuels
• The importance of fuel cells in decarbonising tanker vessels
• Pilot projects to demonstrate fuel cells
• Safety and handling considerations

Q&A

Networking coffee break in the exhibition area

Sponsored by:

Join our panel as we discuss:

• What is the CO2 reduction potential of widespread uptake of green fuels for shipping
• Has the tanker industry become siloed in its thinking on maritime decarbonisation
• What fuel flexibility means in practice
• The role of data in maritime decarbonisation
• The case for carbon capture and storage.
• Atomic power
• Low-hanging fruit: weather routeing, vessel and voyage optimisation, propeller polishing
• Retrofitted energy efficiency measures that bring vessels up to the same standard as a newbuild
• Solid oxide (and other) fuel cell potential
• Shortsea tanker (and other) projects that could scale for deepsea

Frederikke Munk Sørensen, Principal Climate Manager, MAN Energy Solutions

Nikolaos Michas, Global Tanker Segment Director, Lloyd’s Register EMEA

Thomas Mckenney, Head of Ship Design,

Q&A

Chairman’s day one closing remarks followed by drinks reception

 Sponsored by:

End of day one

Edwin Lampert, Executive Editor & Head of Business Relations, Riviera Maritime Media

Presentation of The International Chemical & Product Tanker Commitment To Excellence Award

This award is being presented to MOL Chemical Tankers in recognition of 50 years of powerful tanker industry service. 

Sponsored by:

MOL Chemical Tankers Europe VP, Operations & Post Fixture, Andreas Sund Poulsen will collect the commitment to excellence award and deliver a keynote address.

Award presented by Freddy Michaelsen, Regional Sales Director - North Europe, V.Group

Panel presentations on the above themes followed by open Q&A

Torben Hertel, Group Vetting Director, Ship Management, V.Group

Capt. Howard N. Snaith. Master Mariner. FNI, General Manager, CDI

Capt. Patrick Joseph LL.M, MBA, Director, Uirtus Marine Services

Q&A

Networking coffee break in the exhibition area

Tank coatings, tank cleaning, optimisation and CII: an impossible quadratic equation? 

• Survey of new coating technologies
• Coating selection and coating maintenance effects on tank cleaning
• Factors that lead to tank cleaning optimization
• CII concept and scenarios
• Aligning coating selection, coating maintenance and tank cleaning to being CII compliant
• Hidden cost of unoptimized tank cleaning

Aceson Trinidad, General Manager, Lighthouse Maritime Services

Q&A

Contamination claims on Product and Chemical tankers

• Understanding the different types of contamination and their sources
• Recognising and dealing with the potential effects of contamination on cargo
• Appropriate cleaning methods
• Strategies for dealing with cargo claims
• Ways to reduce the risk of contamination and claims in future
• Loss prevention advice to protect shipowners’ interest 

Capt. Shajed Khan, Loss Prevention Manager, Britannia P&I Club

A case study detailing how spectrophotometers are enabling seafarers to monitor tank cleaning operations without having to enter the confined spaces of the cargo tanks and assessment of the superior results being reported versus traditional wall-wash inspection.

• The historic approach prior to loading the next nominated cargo
• Confined space entry’s safety track record
• Shifting testing from the condition on the bulkhead to the condition of the wash water
• How a spectrophotometer measures a wash-water sample
• Live monitoring and the economic and environmental benefits of avoiding over-cleaning
• Assessing the accuracy of the analysis process.
• Is self- certification of tank cleanliness now possible?
• Are charterers switching to wash-water analysis? 

Dorte A Creaven, General Manager, Optimization, Europe Division, MOL Chemical Tankers

Panellists:

Guy Johnson, Director, L&I Maritime (UK) 
Marcos Sorto, Loss Control Specialist, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company

Q&A and discussion

Networking lunch break in the exhibition area

Data management and analysis to improve tanker operational efficiency and reduce costs

• Strategies for collecting, storing, and analysing large amounts of data from tanker operations
• Utilising big data analytics and AI algorithms to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement
• Implementing data-driven decision making to optimise fleet performance and reduce costs
• Best practices for data governance, security; and compliance in the tanker industry
• Case studies: successful implementation of data management and analysis that improves operational efficiency and reduces costs

Risto-Juhani Kariranta, Shipping Performance Manager, Neste 

Smart cargo pumping; IoT, big data, and AI to optimise tanker performance and enhance safety

• IoT to facilitate significant energy and time saving for cargo operations of tankers
• Beyond periodic reports. Less workload, more accurate and efficient
• AI algorithms to make sense of data. Improved reliability, safety, and predictability of the discharge process
• Automatic, on board, optimisation: identify and capture improvements on the spot
• Improving tanker trade profitability and asset value

Autonomous cargo handling as decision support for tanker officers

• Machine learning and artificial Intelligence as support in cargo operations
• Improving performance by better prediction
• Reducing risks by using smart systems
• AI as support in cargo planning and cargo requests
• Reducing workload by better information sharing 

Fredrik von Elern, Senior Project Manager, RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden)

Q&A

Networking coffee break in the exhibition area

Updating standards and strategies for crew training and development in the tanker industry

• The need for updated standards of competence and assessment criteria
• Fresh thinking on refresher training courses
• Meeting the need for additional training for seafarers to handle new fuels and fuel technologies
• How we did it: tanker case studies on training tanker crews fit-for 21st century purposes

Mike Beviss, General Manager, IPTA

Don’t gloss over it: addressing mental health and emotional wellbeing onboard

• Strategies for addressing and preventing stress, burnout and depression
• Maintaining emotional well-being in times of uncertainty and crisis
• Addressing discrimination and promoting inclusivity within the tanker industry workforce
• The role of technology in promoting mental health and emotional well-being on board
• Case studies: Successful implementation of mental health and emotional well-being programmes in the tanker industry

Capt. Kuba Szymanski, Secretary General, InterManager

Q&A

Conference chairman summary and close 

Edwin Lampert, Executive Editor & Head of Business Relations, Riviera Maritime Media

Aderco 

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