New Tanker Vessels: Bigger, better, faster, cleaner

Bigger, better, faster, cleaner

Z Energy will soon be able to utilise two brand new tanker vessels with eco-performance engines to ship fuel around the New Zealand coast.

Coastal Oil Logistics Limited (COLL), which transports petroleum products from Refining NZ at Marsden Point to New Zealand’s ports on behalf of its four fuel company shareholders including Z Energy, has just announced that it will charter two brand new tanker vessels to replace its current tankers, the Torea and Kakariki.

The Torea and Kakariki have been in service by COLL for eight and 17 years respectively.

The Torea’s replacement, a 50,000 deadweight tonne (dwt) fuel products tanker, is due to arrive in February 2016. The Kakariki replacement, a 50,000dwt fuel products and bitumen tanker, will be owned by ASP Ship Management Group (ASP) and will begin service in June 2017.

The two new tankers, which are yet to be named, will not only be bigger, better and faster than what’s being used now, they will also have less of an impact on the environment.

When compared to the current vessels being used by COLL, the expected increase in fuel efficiency from these ships is estimated to be approximately 25%.

Z’s Sustainability Manager, Gerri Ward, said that Z were particularly pleased that COLL had decided on these ships because of the meaningful carbon emission reductions and the state of the art safety systems on board.

“At Z, one of our sustainability goals is to reduce our own carbon intensity, so we were very supportive of COLL selecting the most fuel efficient and safe tanker vessels available to us.

“Our rough calculation suggests that the fuel efficiency savings from the new vessels versus the next best available ship will translate to a reduction of 11,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, per ship for the industry.

“For Z, this represents a 10% reduction in carbon emissions from our downstream distribution activities in New Zealand, and is another step in the right direction,” said Gerri.

The other significant benefit of two new sister ships is around safety management as it allows for standardised maintenance, operations and training. In addition, the internal vessel systems supporting safety and quality management are all state of the art.

Gerri said that this was also an example of how trying to be more sustainable made good business sense.

“The fuel consumption savings made from the new ships will actually offset the higher upfront cost of building a new ship, and in fact work out to be more economic over time,” said Gerri.

The Kakariki and Torea will be returned to their owners at the end of their current time charter to COLL.

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