V.Group has won a contract to manage three LNG-fuelled VLCCs on behalf of US owner International Seaways.
The ship manager will provide full technical management for the newbuildings when they are delivered in the first quarter of 2023.
The trio is under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and will operate under long-term time charters with Shell.
V.Group is expanding into the dual-fuel and LNG sector, where it expects growing numbers of well-trained and experienced crew will be required.
Chief executive Rene Kofod-Olsen described the sector as “a strategic priority for V.Group”.
“This success, combined with our work with LNG and LNG dual-fuelled vessels in France, means we are well poised to support the growth of the global LNG fleet,” he said.
V.Group has also bolstered its management team in the gas sector, recruiting industry veteran David Taylor as managing director of its LNG division.
Taylor joined V.Group last year after 39 years with Shell, where he ran the in-house ship management division from 2015.
The move into dual-fuel is part of V.Group’s efforts to burnish its green credentials.
“We see LNG as the primary transition fuel to meet shipping’s decarbonisation goals,” Kofod-Olsen said.
The company has established a dedicated sustainability & decarbonisation department in expectation of a stricter regulatory climate.
It has also entered a strategic partnership with Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.
