The Van Weelde Shipping Group, owners of the dry cargo fleet managed by Orient Shipping Rotterdam (OSR), has signed a letter of intent (LoI) to join Ahti Pool. The latter is a new FuelEU Maritime (FEM) compliance solution.
Ahti Pool provides an easy and cost-effective way to comply with the FuelEU Maritime regulation. It is the world’s first FuelEU Maritime compliance pool. By joining Ahti Pool, a ship efficiently shares the compliance burden with other pool members, including over-compliant ships, and collectively benefits from the pool’s economies of scale.
With Van Weelde Shipping Group, the number of Ahti Pool’s vessels under management reaches about 200.
Also read: Ahti: Pooling creates huge FuelEU Maritime benefits
FuelEU Maritime
FuelEU Maritime will come into force on 1 January 2025, and the regulations are part of the European Union’s “Fit For 55” package. It aims to enable the EU to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
FuelEU Maritime will require all ships entering EU waters to comply with new carbon intensity limits on vessel emissions. One of the primary aims is to increase the demand for, and consistent use of renewable and low-carbon fuels. The rewards for doing so can be considerable – if they are effectively chosen and implemented systematically.
Also read: FuelEU penalties will hit these ship segments hardest
Ahti Pool
FuelEU allows ships that operate on low-carbon fuels to offset those that don’t do so yet. This is the idea of pooling. For shipowners who are concerned about ordering the wrong future-fuelled newbuilds, pooling and the use of appropriate low-carbon fuels on their vessels provides them with substantially increased time to analyse the results of first movers, and to make better informed investments, according to Ahti.
Risto-Juhani Kariranta, CEO of Ahti: ‘We are a on a mission to make shipping’s green transition affordable, and one of the best ways to do that for ships that are visiting and operating within European Union waters is via pooling and choosing the optimal low-carbon fuels.’
He adds: ‘Ahti Pool combines expert geographical knowledge, the latest optimisation algorithms, and unique energy data sets to find the lowest cost of compliance for vessels and avoid implementing a “paying the penalties” strategy.’
Reducing compliance costs
‘Our fully neutral solution isn’t tied to any compliance option, and this flexibility enables us to transparently reduce our clients’ FEM compliance costs for each of their ships’ unique trading patterns. We’re confident that Van Weelde will benefit greatly from joining Ahti Pool,’ states Kariranta.
Raoul de Troije, Technical Director of Van Weelde, adds: ‘Becoming a member of Ahti Pool is a strategic decision for Van Weelde and OSR. But after considering the available FuelEU Maritime compliance options, it was an easy choice to make, because Ahti Pool will help us to maintain our competitive edge, and doesn’t require much additional admin.’
Also read: FuelEU Maritime: How to prepare for compliance
Van Weelde and OSR
The Rotterdam-based Van Weelde Shipping Group (VWSG) was established in 1964. The VWSG is an integrated shipping company dedicated to handysize dry bulk shipping – involved in shipowning, shipbroking, commercial management and ship management, including crewing and technical management. The VWSG operates primarily under two brand names; OSR Rotterdam BV and Van Weelde Chartering BV.
OSR Rotterdam BV was established in 1982 under the wings of the Van Weelde Shipping Group as an independent private company operating in the dry bulk shipping market. It is a commercial shipping operator providing solutions on a global scale.
Picture by Van Weelde Shipping Group.
Also read: ‘R&D and innovation key to achieve FuelEU Maritime objectives’
