…As CMA CGM to Acquire Containerships***
Malaysia’s FPSO & FSO service provider Yinson Holdings has started exclusive negotiations for a potential supply and charter of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit off Nigeria.
The company unveiled the plans to provide an FPSO to the country’s First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company (First E&P) for processing hydrocarbons from the Anyala & Madu fields under Oil Mining Leases 83 & 85, offshore Nigeria.
Yinson’s subsidiary, Yinson Production, entered into a Heads of Terms (HOT) with Yinson Operations & Production West Africa Limited and First E&P to negotiate the terms of a bareboat charter and an operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement.
The initial term of the bareboat charter is expected to be a period of 7 years, Yinson said, adding that First E&P would have the option to extend the charter for another 8 years in total.
The parties are expected to finalize the agreements by the end of June 2018.
First E&P owns 40% of the rights to the fields with the remainder being held by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
In the meantime, French container shipping giant CMA CGM has decided to acquire Containerships, a Finland-based company specialized in the intra-European market.
As informed, CMA CGM has signed an agreement with Container Finance pursuant to which the container shipping and logistics business Containerships and Container Finance’s holdings in Multi-Link Terminals and CD Holding will become part of the CMA CGM Group.
The agreement remains subject to approval by the relevant authorities and the estimated closing is between 3-6 months, according to Containerships.
Upon closing of the transaction, Container Finance’s entire container logistics operations will integrate CMA CGM intra-regional market offering in Europe and Mediterranean area.
CMA CGM Group is already present on the intra-regional market through its subsidiaries: CNC in Intra Asia, Mercosul in Brazil, Sofrana in the Pacific Islands regional maritime trade, and MacAndrews in Europe.
“The acquisition of Containerships will strengthen even more the development strategy implemented by Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM Group’s Chairman and CEO, aimed at densifying the group’s regional network,” CMA CGM said in a statement.
Founded in 1966, Containerships is an intra-European Shortsea specialist with a presence in the Baltic market, Russia, Northern Europe, North Africa and Turkey. With a workforce of 560 people, Containerships offers a complete range of services, as well as logistics solutions by ship, truck, rail and barges.
Commenting on the recently signed agreement, Containerships said it “continues to execute its LNG strategy as planned and will launch four LNG-fuelled vessels between August 2018 and January 2019.”
World Maritime News
