Shell and CMA GM ink LNG supply deal
Shell has entered a multi-year LNG bunkering agreement with French transportation and shipping company CMA CGM to service the latter company's fleet in the Port of Singapore.
The deal to provide simultaneous LNG bunkering to CMA CGM's 13,000 TEU vessels will start in the second half of 2023, and will be undertaken by a joint venture of Shell's Singapore unit and services firm Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd.
LNG bunkering will be provided by the joint venture's vessel FueLNG Bellina, which is already operating, as well as a new 18,000 m3 bunkership due to the operating fleet in 2023.
CMA CGM's Containerships Aurora vessel previously completed a bio-LNG bunkering trial while calling at Rotterdam, using Shell's stock of almost 10% blend bio-LNG fuels. The vessel received around 483 m3 of LNG, 44 m3 of which was bio-LNG.
And the partners believe there is further scope for collaboration. In future, the partnership could be extended CMA's road and aviation transit vessels. Shell and CMA CGM have also entered into an MoU relating to decarbonisation initiatives, including low-carbon marine fuels for CMA's vessels, in addition to clean energy innovations like LNG and hydrogen blending, methane slip abatement and fuel cell development.
Tahir Faruqui, head of downstream LNG at Shell, said: "By using LNG as a marine fuel, the industry immediately places itself on a decarbonising pathway, starting today. LNG is a fuel in transition and offers a credible pathway to liquefied biomethane and the hydrogen-based fuel liquefied e-methane; both having the potential of being net zero.”