Total, CMA CGM sign agreement on LNG supply

PARIS, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- France's giant energy group Total on Monday said it won a 10-year deal to provide, CMA CGM, the world's third largest container line, with liquified natural gas (LNG) in a move to respect strict ecology international rules imposed by the International Maritime Organization.

Under the agreement, Total will provide, via its Marine Fuels Global Solutions subsidiary, around 300,000 tons of liquefied natural gas a year for 10 years starting in 2020.

"This unprecedented volume in the history of LNG bunker will fuel CMA CGM's nine newbuild container ships, scheduled for delivery beginning 2020 onwards," the statement said.

Following the two groups' new partnership, CMA CGM "will outperform the sulfur cap of 0.5 percent required in 2020," it added.

French shipping group and energy company have already signed an accord on lower emission fuels in line with the global regulations to reduce the amount of sulphur emissions from vessels to 0.5 percent of fuel content over next three years compared with 3.5 percent currently.

"With this groundbreaking decision by the CMA CGM group, the entire maritime industry will benefit from the new supply chains that will be created. CMA CGM is pursuing its expansion through a combination of growth, profitability and environmental responsibility," said Rodolphe Saade, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM.

To Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total, "CMA CGM's decision to adopt LNG propulsion for its newbuild container ships sends a strong signal to the maritime world." Enditem