Annual Report and Sustainability Report 2019
2019 has been a year of high activity in Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA (KCC), a year where we have reached a number of important milestones which lay a solid foundation for the successful long term growth of our company.
During the year, we successfully listed the company on the Oslo Axess and raised close to USD 40 million in equity to fund the building of two additional CLEANBU combination carriers. After we take delivery of last of the eight contracted CLEANBU vessels in 2021, we will have almost doubled our fleet between 2019 and 2021.
We took delivery of our first CLEANBU vessel in January 2019 and additional two vessels in July and September, respectively. This marks the realization of a project which in many respects is groundbreaking in the shipping industry. In the selected trades, these vessels will make transportation of product tanker and dry bulk cargoes as safe or safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly than today’s standard dry bulk and tanker solutions. We have progressed well in the phase-in of these three CLEANBU vessels having made 12 safe chemical and oil product cargo shipments for six customers since delivery. By now the CLEANBU concept is proven and the vessels have proved their potential in both tanker and dry bulk trades.
After 18 months of work, we released KCC’s environmental strategy in January 2020. This year, we are also releasing for the first time our Sustainability Report for 2019 together with this Annual Report. KCC has a unique starting point with a CABU and CLEANBU fleet providing the most carbon effective deep-sea transportation solution in the world with up to 40% lower carbon emissions than standard vessels in KCC’s trade lanes. In our environmental strategy, we have set high ambitions with the objective to be in the lead towards a low carbon future in the dry bulk and tanker shipping industry. We commit ourselves to work on a number of areas: to improve the energy and operational efficiency of our fleet, to test and use new fuels with low carbon footprint and to work actively on developing the first zero-emission combination carrier. We shall leave no stone unturned to reach our targets, including reaching a carbon neutral operation within 2030!
2020 seems to become a more challenging year for the shipping industry and for KCC than we expected at the end 2019. The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus over the last two months will likely have considerable negative effects on the world economy and the shipping markets. In this unprecedented situation, our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of our crew and employees. KCC is resilient in the face of increased market volatility and uncertainties due to our unique and efficient shipping concepts, our contract coverage and our strong financial position. Even in rough times, the world needs more carbon effective shipping solutions, and this will be increasingly important going forward. Our combination carriers deliver shipping solutions meeting 2030 carbon intensity targets already today. We are future bound!
We are future bound!
