• 11 Feb 2018

Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) have signed a long-term charter contract for a large LNG bunker vessel of 18,600 cubic meter, to be delivered in 2020. The vessel will operate in Northern Europe and will be the first ever capable of supplying large quantities of LNG in one single bunkering operation. With this vessel, TMFGS intends to serve the emerging marine LNG market for the container ships segment, including those sailing on the Europe-Asia trade: in particular to supply CMA CGM’s new build LNG mega container ships, following a 10 years contract of 300 kton per annum signed with TMFGS in December 2017. This bunker vessel, with a length of about 135 meters, will be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China and fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system provided by the French company GTT. The newbuild vessel will be managed by MOL (Europe Africa) Ltd, a UK subsidiary of MOL. Beyond their historical commercial relationship, the two companies have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to combine their expertise in the development of marine LNG infrastructures and serve MOL future LNG needs. Olivier Jouny, Managing Director of TMFGS, commented on the decision: “We are very proud to partner with MOL for our first LNG bunker vessel. This pioneer agreement offers a major contribution to the development of LNG as a marine fuel and illustrates Total’s strong commitment towards the use of this new fuel. Takeshi Hashimoto, MOL Senior Managing Executive Officer, Energy Transport Business Unit, said: “We are delighted to be selected as a partner of Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions for their first LNG bunker vessel.  This is a key milestone for MOL and also a stepping stone to further enhancement of the two companies’ relationship of not only in conventional fuels but also LNG as a marine fuel.  We are confident that our joint technical and operational expertise will contribute positively to this new business development. ”