Features: - Tanker Operator

Today, the company manages
four modern VLCCs bought
secondhand from Samco,
Embiricos and two from
Gulf Marine, the latter pair being
only five months old. The other
two are around five years of age.
In addition, Metrostar has
embarked upon a newbuilding
project, involving two VLCCs at
Hyundai for 2010 delivery and
seven suezmaxes at Hyundai
Samho for delivery from 2009
through 2011. The company has
also recently invested in a series
of handysize bulkers.
Queensway
In common with all the tanker
owners interviewed, Queensway
Navigation, manager of the
Vemaoil fleet, thought that
scrubbers have a future for
reducing SOx emissions.
"Refineries don't know what to
do with the sulphur extracted,
also we have to investigate the
increase in air pollution by the
refineries' process to produce the
low sulphur product," managing
director Vassilios Terzis said.
He thought that scrubbers had a
good future for shipping as they
would save money in the long
term over other forms of
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emissions controls, such as the
use of distillates in the main
engines.
"We plan to start (scrubber)
trials on a small Vemaoil bunker
tanker," Terzis said.
Kittiwake’s representatives led
by Leigh-Jones explained that a
2.2 MW powered scrubber
system would cost in the region
of almost Eur1 mill. When
retrofitted to a secondhand vessel,
the cost would be higher. About
10% of the main engine's power
would be needed to operate the
scrubbers, he said.
They also said that all Greek
coastal vessels, including the
huge ferry fleet, had finally to
switch to low sulphur fuel
(LSFO) by 1st October, following
several date extensions.
Queensway operates around
half a dozen bunker tankers based
at Gibraltar, which comes under
EU legislation. "We have to solve
the problems for local vessels in
the Mediterranean, look for
solutions we can accommodate,"
Terzis said.
It is estimated that there are
450 local tankers operating in the
Mediterranean and emissions
control is a particular problem on
smaller vessels. The owners of
Vassilios Terzis
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these vessels will not be able to
recover their costs when fitting
emissions abatement equipment,
so through the Union of
Mediterranean Tanker Owners, of
which Terzis is vice chairman,
ways of obtaining EU subsidies
to reduce emissions were being
discussed.
In total, Queensway manages
two aframaxes, of which one is
used for storage, one panamax
and seven bunker tankers. The
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TECHNOLOGY - EMISSIONS
company's philosophy was to
"build things up step by step,"
Terzis explained.
Leigh-Jones claimed that
scrubber maintenance would be
easy and the residue would be in
the order of 20 kilos per tonne,
producing anything from 1-3
tonnes per month, depending on
the size of the installation. This
can be recycled to burn, or
transferred into the slop tank, he
explained.
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current legislation,
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November/December 2007 � TANKEROperator 43