Frontline turns to DNV to help decarbonize its fleet

Tanker owner and operator Frontline has appointed classification society DNV to assist the company through its decarbonization journey towards IMO 2030- 2050.

The project, launched last year, is aimed at providing Frontline with a solid understanding of its options, and the ways of further optimizing its operations and fleet towards more energy-efficient and sustainable operations applying a systematic approach.

“DNV GL has been appointed to assist us throughout this project. By the end of 2021, we intend to have fully digitalized our ship performance data into our digital monitoring platform Veracity, set targets with associated KPIs on energy efficiency both for the short and longterm and established a strategy on the implementation of alternative fuels,” Frontline said announcing its results for the first quarter of 2021.

As part of its transition, earlier this month Frontline inked a deal to acquire six latest generation ECO-type VLCC newbuilding contracts.

The vessels are designed to operate on different fuels, including biofuel, and have the potential to be converted or retrofitted to consume fuel such as LNG or ammonia. The newbuildings will also be fitted with scrubbers.

“These high-quality vessels will be delivered at a time when oil demand is expected to have normalized and the Global economy is running on full steam,” Lars H. Barstad, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management, said.

“The fundamentals of the tanker market remain firm, with a historic low order book and a significant part of the fleet challenged by tightening environmental regulations.”

The company took delivery of one newbuilding LR2 tanker in April 2021, and two are expected to be delivered in September and October 2021, respectively.

Frontline reported a net income of $28.9 million and adjusted net income of $8.8 million for the first quarter of 2021. The reported total operating revenues for Q1 were $194 million.

“Despite challenging market conditions during the first quarter of 2021, Frontline manages to deliver a solid result. This reflects our business model, with high focus on efficiency, quality, and cost throughout the organization,” Barstad said.

“We are not out of the woods yet with regards to freight demand, and the recent Covid-19 situation in Asia is a concern. We are seeing promising oil demand figures from Europe, US, and China and OPEC, EIA, and IEA maintain their very firm demand growth expectations for the second half of 2021, but short-term the freight market continues to be challenged.”