Maersk Tankers has continued to expand its managed gas carrier fleet in a deal with Japan’s Astomos Energy.
The Danish group said its new partner had chosen to place five of its VLGCs under voyage management initially.
Astomos is the biggest LPG distributor and trader in Japan.
“We are honoured to commence the partnership with Maersk Tankers, not only pursuing efficient operation but also environmental goals,” said Kei Sakaguchi, general manager of supply and trading in the Japanese company’s international division.
“We are convinced the collaboration with experienced specialists will contribute to solving a global challenge and achieving sustainable prosperity,” the Astomos executive added.
The Maersk Tankers service will help Astomos achieve greater economic and environmental efficiency through day-to-day vessel operations, fuel optimisation and claims handling, the Danish group said.
It covers full post-fixture support from the time the vessel is fixed for a voyage, through its successful execution, to the closure of the voyage books.
“We are looking forward to this new partnership with Astomos Energy and are pleased that our knowledge and experience of commercial tanker operations can add value to owners across all vessel types and segments,” said Aditya Trehan, head of operations at Maersk Tankers.
Astomos is controlled by Idemitsu Tanker and Mitsubishi Corp.
The company is listed with three owned ships, the 83,000-cbm Astomos Earth (built 2012) and Astomos Venus (built 2016), and the 79,000-cbm Gas Capricorn (built 2003).
Service launched in April
In April, Maersk Tankers launched voyage management as a standalone service and took over the handling of seven VLGCs owned by Petredec’s Petredec Global platform in London.
Maersk Tankers commercially manages more than 150 vessels across six pools.
It handles more than 2,000 voyages for shipowners annually.
