French container liner CMA CGM is teaming up with compatriot LNG player TotalEnergies to co-develop and jointly operate LNG bunkering facilities. CMA CGM and TotalEnergies will develop a 50/50 logistics joint venture dedicated to the implementation and operation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker supply solution at the port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

As part of the joint venture, a new 20,000 cubic-meter LNG bunker vessel will be positioned in Rotterdam by the end of 2028 and jointly operated.

The CMA CGM-TotalEnergies joint venture will offer a complete logistics service, from reload access at Gate terminal facilities to LNG bunker delivery to a wide range of vessels operating in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region, including those of CMA CGM as well as other shipping operators. 

The joint venture will capitalize on TotalEnergies’ established logistics infrastructure in the ARA region, where the 18,600 m³ LNG bunker vessel Gas Agility has been in operation since 2020.

CMA CGM’s dual-fuel LNG-powered fleet is expected to grow to 123 vessels by 2029. To support this expansion and its goal of reaching net zero carbon by 20250, TotalEnergies will supply CMA CGM with up to 360,000 tons of LNG annually, from 2028 onwards and until 2040.

“With this joint venture, CMA CGM and TotalEnergies are taking a new step to support the energy transition in shipping,” said Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group, adding that, “For the first time, a shipping company and an energy provider will jointly operate an LNG bunkering vessel, based in the port of Rotterdam.”

The two French firms have been collaborating since 2017 with several agreements, including an LNG 10-year supply agreement with CMA CGM in Rotterdam, an  LNG 10-year supply deal in Marseille Fos, an LNG bunkering of a large CMA CGM container vessel in Rotterdam, and an LNG bunkering of a CMA CGM container ship in France, in Dunkirk.

The last cooperation was in 2022 with a ship-to-containership LNG bunkering operation at the Port of Marseille Fos.