CMA CGM has confirmed that it has entered into a joint venture with French vessel bunkering provider Total Energies, which will include the ownership of a liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel for deployment in northern Europe.

The Marseille-headquartered shipowner, which operates the world’s third-largest fleet of containerships, said that the new joint venture will provide a complete logistics service for a wide range of ships operating in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp port range.

The service will provide LNG fuel to CMA CGM’s own vessels, in addition to other operators.

CMA CGM has ordered 123 LNG dual-fuel containerships since 2017, with some 70 of the vessels already in service.

The joint venture has contracted a 20,000 cu m LNG bunkering newbuilding for delivery in late-2028. CMA CGM did not disclose the name of the shipyard where the vessel has been ordered.

According to data tracked by Lloyd’s List, at least 14 LNG bunkering vessels have been ordered since the beginning of this year, with the majority of shipbuilding contracts placed with Chinese shipyards.

The joint venture will boost TotalEnergies’ existing LNG bunkering provision in the ARA region, which is serviced by the 18,600 cu m Gas Agility (IMO: 9850680).

Gas Agility was built by Chinese yard Hudong Zhonghua in 2020 for Japan’s Mitsui OSK against a long-term charter to Total Energies to serve ships at the port of Rotterdam.

Commenting on the new agreement, CMA CGM chairman and chief executive Rodolphe Saadé said: “For the first time, a shipping company and an energy provider will jointly operate an LNG bunkering vessel, based in the port of Rotterdam. It is a concrete way to scale up alternative fuels and accelerate the decarbonisation of global trade.”

Total Energies and CMA CGM signed an initial long-term LNG fuel supply agreement in 2017 to supply LNG dual-fuel boxships at the port of Rotterdam. Further agreements were later signed to bunker CMA CGM vessels with LNG at the French ports of Marseille and Dunkirk.