VLGC owner and operator BW LPG is adding another modern gas carrier to its owned fleet.
The dual-listed unit of Singapore’s BW Group has exercised a purchase option on the 2020-built BW Yushi for around $70m.
The vessel, estimated by Veson Nautical’s pricing platform VesselsValue at $96.5m, will be delivered from Singapore’s Grace Ocean Investment in the second quarter of this year.
The 83,315 cu m unit is the sister vessel of the 2019 Mitsubishi-built BW Kizoku, BW LPG picked up from Grace Ocean last November at about the same price, with delivery closed earlier this month.
The company also took delivery of all 12 VLGCs acquired from John Fredriksen-controlled Avance Gas last year and now boasts a fleet of more than 50 ships in this segment.
One older vessel previously agreed for sale exited the fleet in February for about $65m, delivering a net book gain of $32m.
The second enlarged edition of Geneva Dry is just 60 days away with close to 200 companies signing up to attend the world’s premier commodities shipping summit.
The global dry bulk event is on track to surpass last year’s 600 delegates figure and can report 53 brands have signed on as sponsors with 60 top names now confirmed as speakers spread across 13 sessions over two days at the end of April taking place at the iconic President Hotel Wilson on the shoreline of Lake Geneva.
“We can really feel the momentum building for the return of Geneva Dry with plenty of new faces to go alongside hundreds of returning delegates,” commented Grant Rowles, co-founder of the event.
Organisers have negotiated special hotel rates at six hotels across the city, with organisers warning today that rooms are disappearing fast as delegate totals come close to topping last year’s total. Hotel details are available here.
People flying in to Switzerland for the event are advised to spend some extra days in Geneva as multiple other gatherings are taking place that week including parties hosted by brokers and charterers, golf days, workshops, dinners as well as the annual general meeting of Sea Cargo Charter.
Geneva Dry brings together all elements of the commodities shipping sector to host the ultimate dry bulk shipping event.
Split into sectors, panels will bring together analysts, financiers, miners, traders and shipowners to discuss where the markets are headed. Sessions include:
Minor Bulks
Agri-commodities
Coal
Iron Ore
Decarbonisation
The full Geneva Dry agenda can be accessed here. Geneva Dry registration, at just $780, can be accessed here. Special Geneva Dry hotel room rates can be found here.
Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) and SPDB Financial Leasing, the leasing arm of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, have signed a financing agreement for two newbuild LNG dual-fuel neopanamax containerships.
The agreement strengthens the longstanding collaboration between the two companies. Looking ahead, the two firms will look to develop more green, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly vessels.
The two newbuilds are currently under construction at Jiangsu New Times Shipbuilding. Each vessel is 366 m long, 56 m wide, and has a structural draft of 30.2 m.
The ships, powered by LNG dual-fuel propulsion, comply with IMO Tier III emission standards. According to EPS, the vessels also feature exceptional energy efficiency.
Eastern Pacific has 12 newbuilds on order at New Times Shipbuilding. The company booked four 18,000 teu vessels in September 2024. They are likely options called following eight firm vessels booked earlier in the year. The Idan Ofer-controlled shipowner, with a fleet of over 300 vessels, expects deliveries to occur in 2027 and 2028.
In addition to the 18,000 teu series, EPS has lined up seven 8,400 teu newbuilds at the same yard.
Trafigura Head of Trading: U.S. foreign policy vis-a-vis Iran is the main upside risk for oil. Last year, Trump pledged in his Republican National Convention speech to dramatically lower Iranian oil exports. On Tuesday, the […]
ENB Pub Note: This article is from the Energy Reminations Substack and was written by Doug Sandridge, who is a friend of the ENB Podcast. He has extensive international energy knowledge, and I interviewed Doug […]
The SEC is moving to scrap its climate disclosure rule, citing costs and legal challenges in forcing companies to report emissions and climate risks. The Security and Exchange Commission appears ready to quash the controversial […]
Twenty-six financial officials from 21 states wrote to President Donald Trump on Tuesday urging him and his administration to review European Union (EU) climate rules applying to U.S. companies operating in Europe as part of […]
Shell revealed this in its newest LNG Outlook on Tuesday. However, the UK-based firm did not provide many details regarding the fleet. Shell released a graph (below) showing that China’s LNG-powered truck fleet is expected […]
Highlights of the Podcast
00:00 – Intro
01:14 – Trafigura: Iran Sanctions Are Biggest Bullish Catalyst On Oil Prices
Stuart Turley: [00:07:53] China’s huge LNG powered truck fleet continues to expand. This is just a short little article, but Shell released a graph showing that China’s LNG powered truck fleet is expected to double between 2020 and 2030 as it replaces diesel with the LNG. Hands off to China. We can learn a thing or two from China because China looks at things in decades and even though they print money and it is a communist kind of country, they have really taken the United States in the West to task and are beating us at a lot of the commerce game. So, uh, LNG powered trucks for long haul or compressed natural gas. I believe either one of those would be a much better solution than fully electric trucks because they would have less impact on the environment than diesel. So, you know, we’ve got to sit back and take a look at that and say, wait a minute, it would be easier to put in LNG and it’s compressed natural gas charging stations than it would be to put in electric charging stations and batteries, and it would be a lot cheaper because it is an internal combustion engine and can be modified. Huge difference. Anyway,. [00:09:12][79.1]
Stuart Turley: [00:09:13] So let’s go on and thank you very much for subscribing, like, share, read this to your family, read this to your pets, and we sure appreciate everybody. Have a great day. [00:09:13][0.0][539.5]
Joy Basu, CEO of Smart Ship Hub, on why shipping needs to think predictive and not scheduled when it comes to looking after vessels.
The transition to predictive maintenance is not just an upgrade it is the future of shipping as companies in their droves adopt technical innovations to ensure the best possible standard of care and quality of life for vessels.
Scheduled maintenance has long been the standard in the shipping industry, where equipment and vessel components are serviced based on predefined intervals. However, this approach is increasingly outdated in the face of modern predictive maintenance technologies, which use data-driven insights to optimise maintenance schedules.
The industry is already seeing a shift toward predictive maintenance with advancements in digital twin technology, AI-driven analytics, and cloud-based fleet management. Companies that embrace these innovations will gain a competitive edge, reduce operational risks, and enhance profitability.
By monitoring engine performance, fuel consumption, and other critical parameters, predictive maintenance helps optimise ship efficiency. This leads to better fuel management, lower emissions, and improved operational performance.
Shipping companies that continue relying on scheduled maintenance will face higher costs, inefficiencies, and regulatory challenges. Predictive maintenance is not just an upgrade—it’s the future.Investing in data-driven, AI-powered maintenance strategies today will ensure long-term profitability, sustainability, and a competitive edge in the evolving maritime industry.
Traditionally the maritime industry has worked on scheduled maintenance which operates on a predetermined timeline, not on actual equipment condition. This often leads to either:
Over-maintenance, where parts are replaced too early, leading to unnecessary costs.
Under-maintenance, where failures occur before the next scheduled service, causing unexpected downtime.
The primary difference between condition-based vs. predictive maintenance is that the latter combines sensor measurements with precise algorithmic formulas to predict the exact moment when maintenance actions should be taken.
Timely and effective maintenance of seagoing vessels is fundamental to the maritime industry’s core business of transporting cargo from A to B as safely and efficiently as possible. Well-maintained ships experience fewer unexpected failures or breakdowns, reducing the potential for accidents, delays and disruptions, while safeguarding the lives of the crews serving onboard.
While vessel maintenance necessarily incurs costs, careful asset management should ultimately lead to savings by preventing more expensive repairs or replacements that could result from neglect or deferred action. Effective maintenance can also help to improve fuel efficiency and reduce other operational expenses by allowing the ship to sail in condition as close to optimal as possible, creating benefits for both the shipping company and the environment.
The evolution of condition-based maintenance (CBM) has helped to increase the effectiveness of vessel care processes, moving away from a reliance on averages and statistical assumptions to an approach tailored specifically to the equipment or asset being maintained. Scheduling maintenance activities based on the actual condition of the equipment, rather than following a fixed calendar-based timetable, allows for resources to be deployed more efficiently and for the impact of maintenance procedures on vessel operations to be minimised.
Current maintenance practices within the shipping industry typically involve a range of common processes and requirements that present significant opportunities for optimisation. Multiple stakeholders, including ship owners, classification societies and equipment manufacturers, all have a role to play in managing maintenance, but processes suffer from a lack of direct integration between the parties.
The philosophy behind predictive maintenance, however, is to only perform those tasks when they are actually needed to ensure optimal uptime on the equipment. This generally means condition-based monitoring to ensure that maintenance is triggered when assets meet certain predetermined conditions.
The maritime sector undoubtedly faces a range of challenges, both technical and structural, in deploying efficient and effective condition-based maintenance systems. However, many of these challenges could be substantially alleviated by integrating data and analytics-driven methods into the maintenance workflow and creating a data-driven condition-based maintenance (DCBM) process.
By integrating data analytics with traditional maintenance methods, the industry has the potential to significantly improve both the reliability and operational efficiency of marine vessels. This will require the development of analytics-based diagnostic systems, real-time monitoring solutions, and comprehensive digital platforms to remove errors and inefficiencies from traditional processes and optimise workflows.
The industry is already seeing a shift toward predictive maintenance with advancements in digital twin technology, AI-driven analytics, and cloud-based fleet management. Companies that embrace these innovations will gain a competitive edge, reduce operational risks, and enhance profitability.
The Smart Container Alliance has been launched to drive the adoption of smart container technology. This initiative aims to unite industry stakeholders in a collective effort to enhance cargo traceability, fortify maritime trade, and support global enforcement agencies in the fight against criminal networks.
The Smart Container Alliance aims to advance industry standards, advocate for policy change, and foster collaboration between technology providers, shipowners, customs authorities, and international regulatory bodies, including the European Union and the World Customs Organization.
“Smart cargo and container telematics are the foundation for the 21st century supply chain with revolutionary new solutions for our society, authorities, governments and businesses to structurally reduce illicit trade, cargo contamination, cargo waste, theft and supply chain carbon footprint while simultaneously enhance product authentication, on-time delivery commitments, asset productivity and cargo integrity and quality,” stated Charles Vincent, CEO of ARVIEM.
The alliance will act as a central platform for industry stakeholders to exchange knowledge, develop best practices, and promote the adoption of smart containers worldwide with many global liners vowing to make their entire container fleets smart in the coming years.
“Standardising smart container data across alliance members will ensure greater interoperability, efficiency, and security in global trade, helping enforcement agencies combat illicit activity while improving the flow of legitimate goods,” commented Christian Allred, CCO of ORBCOMM.
The launch of the Smart Container Alliance coincides with the reform of the EU Customs Union since its inception in 1968. Smart containers are set to play a key role in the shift towards a data-driven approach to customs checks, reinforcing security measures across European ports and beyond.
With its headquarters in Brussels, the alliance will engage with policymakers, industry leaders, and enforcement agencies to support a harmonised approach to trade security.
A key focus, according to the statement, will be aligning efforts with the European Port Alliance to counter criminal infiltration and reinforce supply chain integrity. Through partnerships, advocacy, and capacity-building, the Smart Container Alliance aims to pave the way for a safer, smarter, and more resilient global trade ecosystem.
The quantity of electricity generated in the US by all sources, from natural gas to rooftop solar, rose by 3.1% in 2024 from 2023 to a record of 4,304,039 gigawatt-hours (GWh), according to data from the EIA today.
This is now clearly a breakout in demand, after 14 years of stagnation, from 2007 through 2021, when electricity users, to reduce their costs, invested in more efficient equipment – lights, appliances, electronic equipment, industrial equipment, heating and air-conditioning, etc. – and in better building insulation, shading, etc., to reduce their power costs. This relentless drive for greater efficiency kept demand roughly stable for years despite the growing economy and population. And it mired many power generators and electric utilities in a no-growth business where it was difficult to justify investment.
Now the scenario has changed, largely due to the growth in demand from data centers (AI, cloud, crypto) and the increasing penetration of EVs in the national vehicle fleet – EVs accounted for over 10% of US vehicle sales in 2024.
The share of total electricity generated by source:
Natural gas rules. Power generation from natural gas rose by 3.3% to a record of 1,864,874 GWh in 2024.
The share of natural gas as source for power generation remained roughly unchanged in 2024, matching the record of 42.7% of 2023, about double its share in 2007. Natural gas had surpassed nuclear in 2006 and coal in 2016 (blue in the chart below).
The US is the largest natural gas producer and the largest LNG exporter in the word. Production has oversupplied the US market and has caused the price of natural gas to collapse since 2009.
The modern combined-cycle gas turbine powerplants have a thermal efficiency of around 65%, nearly double that of older coal powerplants. These two – low price of US natural gas and the high efficiency of the combined-cycle plants – made natural gas immensely attractive for power generators.
Coal power generation fell by 3.3% to 652,760 GWh in 2024. Its share dropped to a record low of 14.9% of total power generation, down from 51% in 2001 (black in the chart below).
Coal cannot compete with cheap natural gas and the efficiency of a combined-cycle gas turbine powerplant. More recently, wind power became more cost-efficient than coal. It all boils down to costs. Gas is cheap. With renewables, the “fuel” is free; and all methods of power generation require costly plants, equipment, maintenance.
Power generators have not built any new coal-fired power plants over the past decade. They’re too inefficient and expensive to operate.
And they’ve been retiring their old inefficient and expensive-to-operate coal-fired power plants. In 2025, of the 12.3 Gigawatts (GW) of capacity that power generators plan to retire, 66% are old coal-fired plants, 21% are old natural-gas-fired plants, 13% are old petroleum-fired plants.
Generation from all renewables combined – wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass – rose by 3.1% to a record 1,061,258 GWh, driven by surging generation from wind (+7.7%) and solar (+26.9%).
The share of all renewables combined increased to 24.2% of total power generation (red). More on them separately in a moment.
Nuclear power generation edged up 0.9% to 781,979 GWh, and its share edged down to 17.8% of total generation (green).
The share of petroleum liquids and petroleum coke declined to 0.3%, having nearly vanished as source of power generation. The planned retirements this year will further reduce generation (purple).
Power generation from renewables.
Wind power generation jumped by 7.7% in 2024, to a record 453,454 GWh. Its share grew to 10.3% of total power generation (red in the chart below).
The Big Five states for utility-scale wind-power generation in 2023, according to separate EIA data, in GWh and % share of US wind power generation:
Texas: 119,836 GWh, 28%
Iowa: 41,869 GWh, 10%
Oklahoma: 37,731 GWh, 9%
Kansas: 27,462 GWh, 6.5%
Illinois: 22,054 GWh, 5%
Solar power generation – utility scale and rooftop solar – surged 26.9% to 303,167 GWh. Its share ballooned to 6.9% of the total power generated, surpassing hydropower (yellow).
Wind and solar combined had a share of 17.2% of total power production in the US, a higher share than coal, and close to nuclear.
Power generation from small-scale solar – such as rooftop systems on homes, retail stores, parking garages, etc. – jumped 15.3% to 84,630 GWh, for a share of 1.9% of total power generated in 2024.
Hydropower generation dipped 1.1% to 242,226 GWh. Its share declined to 5.5% of total power generation (blue).
Biomass power generation declined 1.0% to 46,740 GWh, and its share eased to 1.1% of total power generated. Biomass includes wood and wood-derived fuels, landfill gas, and other waste biomass (black).
Geothermal remained at a minuscule share of 0.4% of total power generated. Most geothermal plants were built in the 1970s in California (green).
Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the mug to find out how:
Singapore’s Adhart Shipping has been named as the owner behind a debut product tanker order for Chinese bulker builder New Dayang.
The subsidiary of state-run machinery manufacturer Sumec Group announced its entry into tanker shipbuilding in January through a deal for four MR units with an undisclosed owner.
Newbuilding sources suggest Adhart booked two firm and two optional 50,000 dwt newbuilds at about $43.5m each for delivery in 2027 and 2028.
The commercial arm of the Executive Group of companies counts 10 ships in its fleet made up of eight bulkers and a pair of South Korean-built MR tankers.
According to shipbuilding databases, the company has not placed any orders since its establishment in 2007.
The two current tankers in the company’s fleet were acquired from US owner International Seaways in 2022.
Chinese owner Ningbo Marine has added to its ultramax bulker orderbook with two newbuilds firmed up at compatriot yard.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed company signed up for up to four 64,000 dwt vessels at Jiangsu Haitong Offshore Engineering Equipment last November.
The deal covered two firm vessels at about $37m each with an option attached for an additional pair, which has now been exercised.
Ningbo Marine predominately owns bulkers, but it also has one 12,100 dwt tanker that joined the fleet in 2020. The latest vessels mark an upsize in the company’s ordering strategy after three 50,000 dwt bulkers were put in operation in recent years.
The 199.9-m-long newbuilds are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2027.
US supermajor ExxonMobil has announced a nearly $200m investment in the Kipper 1B Project, bringing online much-needed additional gas supply from the Gippsland Basin.
The project, approved by ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Australia and its co-venturers Mitsui and Woodside Energy, will utilise the Valaris 107 jack-up rig to drill and install one subsea well into the Kipper field and provide significant upgrades to the West Tuna platform.
The 2006-built rig started work for ExxonMobil in November 2024 and will work on a $153,000 dayrate until November 2025. The contract also has two 180-day priced options.
Work on Kipper 1B follows the successful completion of the recent Kipper compression project and the West Barracouta project that came online in 2021.
“Esso Australia continues to invest in multiple projects that ensure our Gippsland operations sustain gas production well into the 2030s. Projects like Kipper 1B are vital to help meet the country’s energy security needs by bringing new supply online, which will be used exclusively for Australia’s domestic market,” said ExxonMobil Australia chair Simon Younger.
Drilling into the Kipper field is set to begin later this year, with upgrades to the West Tuna platform happening simultaneously. The project is expected to expand capacity from the Kipper field, delivering crucial gas supplies to the market ahead of winter 2026.
