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摘要

K LINE'S KITES·Japan's K Line is continuing to work with Airseas of France to install the French company's Seawing kite system on one of its capesize bulk carriers, with the possibility that, if successful, the system will be installed on up to 50 more K Line ships. The system, which incorporates automatically controlled kites as large as 1,000m~2 to help reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, is based on parafoil technology that 'tows' the ship using wind energy. K Line plans to test the first kite installation on a bulk carrier sailing between Japan and Australia this year to see if the expected 20 per cent savings in fuel use can be achieved. JS GRINDROD CHARTERS· Singapore-based Grindrod Shipping has agreed to charter the Japanese-built eco-ultramax bulk carrier IVS Atsugi for a minimum of two years, with options to extend for two years, or purchase the 34,728gt vessel from its owner, Nisshin Shipping of Japan. JS STAR BULK EXPANDS • Athens-headquartered Star Bulk Carriers has purchased three ten-year-old capesize bulk carriers, the 180,000dwt sisters E.R. Bayonne, E.R. Buenos Aires and E.R. Borneo, from Germany's ER Capital Holding. The purchase has brought the Greek company's combined fleet to 119 vessels, ranging in size from 52,425dwtto209,537dwt. JS RECORD RATE • LNG carriers have been in very high demand recently, which has boosted their short-term charter fees to record amounts. In January BP Pic paid $350,000 a day to charter an LNG tanker to transport a cargo of liquid gas from the US to Asia. The previous highest spot rate for any type of cargo ship was set in late 2019, when a crude carrier was booked at a daily rate of $308,000. JS The American Steamship Company (ASC), a subsidiary of Rand-ASC Holdings, has completed several 'hands-off transits of the congested Cuyahoga River in Ohio using Wartsila's SmartMove navigation technology, installed aboard the self-unloading bulk carrier American Courage.