NAT to save 5 tonnes of fuel per vessel per day
Hamilton, Bermuda based Nordic American Tankers Limited has said it is making "important investments" to its existing tanker fleet to reduce fuel consumption by approximately five tonnes of fuel per vessel per day, Ship & Bunker reports.
In a letter to shareholders, Chairman & CEO Herbjorn Hansson said the cash savings on its bunker bills would be equivalent to over $3,000 per vessel per operating day.
Its Suezmax vessels were reported to consume an average of about 30 to 65 tonnes of fuel per day in ballast and laden condition respectively.
Hansson said high bunker prices have had "a significant impact on our industry," with the price the company was paying for bunker fuel rising from $200 per metric tonne (pmt) a few years ago, to $600 to $700 pmt today.
Commenting on the current market, which is widely seen to be suffering from oversupply and low demand, Hansson said that "conditions remain challenging in the tanker business," adding that "the fundamentals, however, seem to be slowly turning in our favour."
The orderbook for new Suezmax vessels is "shrinking rapidly" he said, and by the end of next year fleet growth would be virtually at a standstill.
"I believe that at some point the tide will turn," he concluded.
NAT also said it was "well positioned" to take advantage of the current historically low vessel prices, and while it was "very conscious not to make investments prematurely," it was actively considering opportunities to invest while ship prices were down.
