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TUGS AND TOWING Cutting harbour emissions with green fuels LNG BUNKERING Singapore’s first bunker vessel is smart, too OFFSHORE ENERGY Will laid-up OSVs ever leave the dock again? SHIPMANAGEMENT Guided by EEDI, ESG and decarbonisation 2021 www.rivieramm.com Sustainability drives Singapore’s maritime growthSingapore Kuala Lumpur Quito Mumbai Guayaquil Accrawww.rivieramm.com Contents Published March 2021 www.rivieramm.com Singapore Solutions | 2021 Regulars 5 COMMENT 64 LAST WORD Terminals, ports and containers 6 Singapore: coping with Covid while growing as a maritime centre 11 How digital technology is cutting port emissions 12 Singapore prepares for a multiple alternative fuel future 15 Return to cruising from Singapore: the path forward Tugs and towing 18 Cleaning up harbour emissions with LNG-powered and hybrid tugs 20 Spearheading autonomous tug technology 22 PSA Marine cuts tug CO 2 emissions by 22% Fuel testing 25 Fuel for debate: rigorous testing of fuel and ballast water becomes obligatory LNG bunkering and refuelling 28 Historic deal shows path to carbon-neutral LNG cargoes and fuelling 30 Singapore is home to first smart LNG bunker vessel Offshore energy 32 Southeast Asia oversupply: will laid-up OSVs leave the dock again? 34 DSV first to receive notation for Covid-safety efforts Shipowners 37 Switch to LPG as fuel: sound economically and environmentally 38 Box ship newbuilds boost LNG-fuelled orderbook 40 Maritime Comity: the first in a new series for Aurora Tankers Shipmanagement 44 Singapore shipmanager leans into sustainability Shipbreaking and recycling 46 Responsible ship recycling: standards or geography? Shipbuilding and repair 48 Clean energy transition reshapes Singapore builder 2544 3811Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct, the Author and Publisher accept no liability to any party for any inaccuracies that may occur. Any third party material included with the publication is supplied in good faith and the Publisher accepts no liability in respect of content. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any electronic medium or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner. Managing Editor: John Snyder t: +1 917 886 5192 e: john.snyder@rivieramm.com Head of Sales – Asia: Kym Tan t: +65 6809 1278 e: kym.tan@rivieramm.com Sales Manager, Asia & Middle East: Rigzin Angdu t: +65 6809 1277 e: rigzin.angdu@rivieramm.com Southeast Asia & Australasia Representative: Kaara Barbour t: +61 414 436 808 e: kaara.barbour@rivieramm.com Creative Manager: Ram Mahbubani t: +44 20 8370 7010 e: ram.mahbubani@rivieramm.com Subscriptions: Sally Church t: +44 20 8370 7018 e: sally.church@rivieramm.com Chairman: John Labdon Managing Director: Steve Labdon Finance Director: Cathy Labdon Executive Editor & Head of Business Relations: Edwin Lampert Published by: Riviera Maritime Media Ltd Mitre House 66 Abbey Road Enfield EN1 2QN UK www.rivieramm.com ISSN 2055-6705 (Print) ISSN 2056-7480 (Online) ©2021 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd www.rivieramm.com Contents Published March 2021 You don’t need more information, you need the right information A year’s subscription to Singapore Solutions costs £49 and gets you: • An issue of Singapore Solutions • Access to the latest issue contents on your digital device • Access to www.singaporesolutions.sg and its searchable archive Subscribe online: www.singaporesolutions.sg Singapore Solutions | 2021 www.rivieramm.com 50 Fresh start, fresh delivery for Singapore builder 53 Shipbuilders’ orderbooks get greener Energy efficiency 54 Why switching your ship to LEDs might be a bright idea Propulsion 56 Electric drive manufacturer gears up for clean- energy transition 58 DP shuttle tankers: robust links in offshore oil value chain Digitalisation and communications 60 Digitalisation supports ship manager’s resilience during Covid 62 Additive manufacturing: coalition tackles 3D printing process Front cover photo: BW Leo, one of 15 VLGCs that will be retrofitted with LPG dual-fuel propulsion (source: BW LPG) 58A s the world’s largest bunkering hub and one of its busiest transhipment connections, the Port of Singapore is a linchpin in the global supply chain. If you want to gauge the pulse of the current maritime market, look to Singapore. In many ways, Singapore is in the vanguard of the maritime industry’s transformation. Driven by shipping’s push towards decarbonisation, Singapore has ambitions of being the LNG bunkering hub in southeast Asia, enhancing its LNG storage capabilities, and increasing its LNG supply. By next year, three suppliers will be supporting LNG refuelling operations in the port, following the award of a bunker licence to Total Marine Solutions. Adding to this enhanced service capability is the first LNG bunker vessel for the country, FueLNG Bellina, owned by another of the port’s licensed suppliers, FueLNG, a joint venture of Shell and Keppel O&M. Signing separate historic long-term sales and purchase agreements with Chevron USA and Qatar Petroleum Trading, the port’s third LNG supplier, Pavilion Energy, has begun laying the groundwork for the supply of carbon-neutral LNG to ships and buyers. All of these changes align with what is occurring in the broader shipping market. More dual-fuel container ships, tankers and bulk carriers are being ordered or converted to burn LNG as a fuel. Of course, Singapore is not putting all its eggs in LNG as shipping’s alternative fuel of choice. It is preparing for shipping’s multi-alternative fuel future with investments and research into lower carbon and carbon-free energy. This can be seen in several efforts to build a green ammonia supply chain in the port. A.P. Møller- Maersk is joining with Fleet Management Ltd, Keppel Offshore & Marine, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Sumitomo Corp and Yara International to study the feasibility of green ammonia ship-to-ship bunkering in the Port of Singapore. The effort would see local suppliers and shipyards build initially the first LPG bunker barges, with an eye on supplying brown, blue and green ammonia in the future. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has joined another effort, The Castor Initiative, to jointly develop an ammonia-fuelled tanker design. Partners MISC, Lloyd’s Register, Samsung Heavy Industries and MAN Energy Solutions aim to have the technology ready for commercialisation by 2024. Singapore-headquartered shipowner BW LPG has been a pioneer in retrofitting very large gas carriers to dual-fuel propulsion, committing to invest US$130M in 15 ships to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On the home front, MPA is cutting local port emissions by supporting the use of LNG and hybrid technology in harbour tugs. It has gone a step further, joining with the Singapore Maritime Institute to support development of electrifying launches and harbour craft and charging infrastructure in the port. This sea change in Singapore is being driven by the global transition to clean energy, and shipping’s push towards decarbonisation. To meet IMO’s 2050 ambitions of cutting GHG emissions by half from 2008 levels, carbon- neutral and zero-carbon ships need to be part of the world fleet. Perhaps Singapore’s greatest accomplishment this past year was in taking on shipping’s largest humanitarian crisis – crew change amid the Covid-19 pandemic. With 400,000 seafarers stranded on ships, some months past their expiring contracts, it was Singapore that stepped up to the challenge, developing procedures to allow seafarers to change safely. Since March 2020, Singapore has facilitated more than 100,000 crew changes at the port. It is efforts such as this that keep Singapore among the world’s elite maritime nations. If you want to see the maritime industry’s future, look to Singapore. SS Maritime’s future: look to Singapore John Snyder Managing Editor COMMENT | 5 SINGAPORE IS IN THE VANGUARD OF THE MARITIME INDUSTRY’S TRANSFORMATION” www.rivieramm.com Singapore Solutions | 2021I n early January 2021, Singapore become one of the first countries to prioritise Covid-19 vaccinations for frontline maritime personnel. Under Singapore’s Sea – Air Vaccination Exercise (SAVE), over 10,000 frontline maritime personnel were expected to be vaccinated for Covid-19 by end January. These vaccinated personnel include port workers, harbour pilots, cargo officers, marine surveyors and marine superintendents who are required to work on board ships in the MPA- controlled ports. Workers include those carrying out essential activity including navigation, refuelling, ship repair and maintenance, as well as operations to transfer cargos. Harbour craft and ocean-going crew who are Singaporeans and long-term residents living in the community are also prioritised for vaccination. The aim is to keep the Port of Singapore open, ensuring the undisrupted flow of goods. Due to the better protection offered by vaccination, frontline maritime personnel who have completed their full course of vaccination will be subjected to fewer testing requirements. Going forward, those who are currently on the 7-day Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) will be tested every 14 days; those who are currently on the 14-day RRT will be tested once a month. MPA chief executive Quah Ley Hoon, says, “We rely on our frontline maritime personnel for the transportation of what we need every day, including food, medical supplies, and consumer goods. We hope that the vaccination can give them peace of mind when they perform their work on board ships. This will provide an additional layer of protection, and keep their family and the community safe. We strongly encourage them to come forward for early vaccination.” The first maritime worker to be vaccinated was PSA Marine harbour pilot, Loh Kah Wai (aged 55). He said, “The vaccination keeps me safe and enables me to do my job with less worry. It’s one more layer of protection, not just for me but for my fellow harbour pilots and my family.” Singapore Shipping Association president Caroline Yang says, “The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) welcomes this mass vaccination for maritime personnel who need to board vessels for their work. We urge companies to arrange and encourage staff in the identified maritime roles to be vaccinated, not only as protection for themselves but also as an assurance to their loved ones. SSA 6 | TERMINALS, PORTS AND CONTAINERS Singapore Solutions | 2021 www.rivieramm.com Singapore: coping with the Covid-19 pandemic while growing as a maritime centre The island state is the de facto centre of shipping in Asia and a major crew change hub. Tanker owners, shipmanagers and local authorities have taken steps to protect personnel from the Covid-19 coronavirus Singapore: a global centre of crew change and shipmanagement (source: WikiMedia Merlion444)TERMINALS, PORTS AND CONTAINERS | 7 www.rivieramm.com Singapore Solutions | 2021 will continue to engage the authorities and maritime stakeholders for practical safe management measures so shipping operations in Singapore can continue amid new developments with the global pandemic.” The MPA’s initiative was the latest of a series of steps taken by the maritime community in Singapore, which is learning how to deal with the Covid- 19 coronavirus pandemic and the formulation of best practice to deal with the crew change crisis. IMC Industrial Group senior director, shipping, Frederik Guttormsen says “Singapore has always been a key port for crew changes because of its strategic location. Detailed procedures, electronic clearances, excellent resource management, availability of infrastructure and flight connectivity made Singapore a preferred port for carrying out crew changes in southeast Asia.” He notes “The Covid-19 virus outbreak presents a very real threat to the society and the economy of Singapore, especially to the maritime sector – especially in ship services, supplies and repairs. Complete lockdown and suspension of activities is not the way forward. Authorities, while enforcing all precautionary measures, should also ensure that services and supplies to ships go on unhindered as shipping and seafarers play a critical role in the global seaborne trade.” Thome head of marine Rajesh Divakaran says that Singapore opened up to crew changes when most Asian ports were closed for any kind of crew changes. Singapore was very careful in the beginning and introduced clear guidelines and protocols (see separate text box). “The Singapore MPA was very helpful and clarified our queries so Thome was able to quickly implement the desired protocols,” says Mr Divakaran. Thome uses quarantine hotels in the Philippines and India to comply with the above requirements. Thome is also a member of CrewSafe. This is an initiative from Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience Fund Taskforce (SFTF). The SFTF audits and approves facilities in Manila based on high quality control on quarantine, medical, and swabbing facilities. There are some concessions with regards to the number of days for approval of a crew change, including replacement of the crew lined up with another crew from the CrewSafe facility. A longer stay (up to five days instead of three days) is allowed. Currently Thome uses a CrewSafe- accredited facility in Manila for crews planning to join in Singapore and more Thome-dedicated quarantine facilities will undergo the CrewSafe audit by the end of January. Anglo-Eastern Ship Management chief information officer Torbjorn Dimblad says Anglo-Eastern has had to quickly adapt its ship management practices in the face of the global pandemic. Under normal circumstances, Anglo-Eastern would visit each ship under its management three times per year. “Across our global fleet that amounts to about 2,000 visits per year. With a pandemic raging and restrictions on travel, that number has been reduced to just several hundred,” he says. As a result, Anglo-Eastern has used many of the digital and video conferencing technologies that others have used during the pandemic to replace face-to-face interactions. “With the expectation that we will not return to normal operations across the fleet until 2022, the opportunity now is to incorporate and embed these into a broader digital strategy for remote collaboration, and engagement,” says Mr Dimblad. Mr Dimblad cited five major challenges shipping must overcome Frederik Guttormsen (IMC Shipping): Covid-19 presents a very real threat to the society and the economy of Singapore (source: IMC Shipping) Singapore crew change protocol The crew change protocol changes with circumstances, but at the time of writing (January 2021) the Singapore protocol was: • 14 days prior: a submission of the crew change plan is sent to the MPA with the details of the seafarers involved; upon approval, these seafarers automatically undergo a period of quarantine. • 14 days of stay home notice which means seafarers stay in a quarantine facility for a minimum of 14 days prior to travelling to Singapore. • The seafarer should be completely isolated in a room with a dedicated toilet and have strictly no interaction with other people, including family members at his or her place or in a quarantine facility, eg a hotel. • A negative PCR test result within 72 hours of departure from the home country to Singapore. • A medical fitness certificate issued within 24 hours prior to departure from home country to Singapore. • Maximum stay in Singapore prior to joining a vessel is three days.Next >