On February 06 2018, Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) signed a long-term charter contract for a large LNG bunker vessel of 18,600 m³. Delivered in 2020, she will operate in Northern Europe and will be the first ever vessel capable of supplying large quantities of LNG in one single bunkering operation.
Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions, Total’s dedicated business unit in charge of worldwide bunkering activities, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), a multi-modal transport group, have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding – combining their expertise to enable the development of marine LNG infrastructures.
Through this vessel, TMFGS will serve the emerging LNG market for the container ships segment – most notably to supplying CMA CGM’s new LNG mega container ships following the 10 year contract signed with TMFGS in September 2017.
For the Total Group as a whole, this is an important milestone, as it reasserts the group’s dedication towards ‘shaping tomorrow’s energy’. Working closely under the One Total initiative, the group is taking action to integrate climate into its strategy for the future, gaining insights and learning from what is currently a market inexperienced with LNG.
For Total Lubmarine, this is a fantastic opportunity to understand the alternative fuel challenges facing their customers – helping them to strategize lubrication solutions for a post 2020 marketplace. Serge Dal Farra, Global Marketing Manager for Total Lubmarine stated:
“At the moment, there is a very limited experience with LNG on 2-stroke engines in the entire market, and so it is too early to advise our customers and the wider community on what the exact challenges will be. Through TMFGS’s charter contract with MOL, and Total’s role as a supplier for CMA CGM, we are well placed to see the challenges of LNG first hand. This will help us to create products and services that allow customers using LNG to optimise engine lubrication and therefore control OPEX. ”