Tanker operator introduces slower steaming

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Jun 2008

A leading tanker operator is slowing sailing speeds to cut bunker costs. Martin Lorenz, tanker division chartering manager for Torm, said long range tankers had been slowed from 16.5 knots to 14.5 knots. He told the maritime news service Lloyds List that this had reduced fuel consumption from 55 metric tonnes (mt) to 40 mt a day. Bunkerworld price data on Monday showed 380 centistoke (cst) bunker product at more than $680 per metric tonne (pmt) in the Fujairah Middle East tanker hub. That would mean a tanker bunkering in the Middle East Gulf could make savings of $10,200 a day, according to Torm calculations.
Torm is one of the world’s leading tanker operators as well as being a significant participant in the dry bulk market.  It runs a fleet of over 130 vessels, principally through a pooling corporation with other shipping companies.
There is growing support from sections of the shipping industry for slow steaming, not simply as a cost saving measure but also as a means of cutting ship-generated pollution.
Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. (OOCL) this month said it was adding a vessel to the Japan/North Europe service to allow ships to travel at what it called an 'ecospeed'.
Last month, Maersk Line said it was introducing slower sailing speeds on one of its Europe and Middle East routes to ensure a more reliable service and to “provide more environmentally friendly transport due to the reduced emissions”.
China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) has also said it plans to reduce the cruising speed of all its ships by 10%.
But there have also been concerns that slower ships could mean more ships, eliminating any environmental advantages.
The secretary-general of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has backed calls for more research into the impact of slow steaming.

Source: Sustainable Shipping