Torm looks to have taken a leaf out of the book of American entrepreneur Victor Kiam who famously said: “I liked the product so much; I brought the company.”
Well, the Danish product tanker owner has just purchased an ownership stake of 75% in ME Production (MEP), a Danish industrial company that builds exhaust gas cleaning scrubbers.
“The new partnership builds on a year-long collaboration between Torm and MEP with the two companies working closely together, especially in relation to Torm’s substantial scrubber commitment,” the shipowner said.
Torm has to date installed scrubbers developed and produced by MEP on more than 50 of its vessels.
MEP founder Jens Peter Faldt will maintain a 25% stake in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“MEP will continue as an independent, stand-alone entity and will continue to serve its existing and loyal customer base,” Torm said.
The current management and production team at MEP will continue without any changes, and Faldt will continue as chief executive of the company.
“With the new ownership structure with Torm, MEP will have a stronger foundation to support the development of the business,” said Faldt.
“Our mission is still to create cleaner air by developing more green solutions and helping our customers to reduce their environmental footprint.
“That ambition is strengthened now that we are able to combine MEP’s capabilities in research and production of emission-saving equipment with Torm’s shipowning and ship management experience,” he added.
Jesper S. Jensen, head of the technical division at Torm said he was convinced that combining the experience and engineering resources at MEP with the “operational excellence” at Torm will the shipowner achieving its environmental targets.
Scrubbers have been fitted to over 4,730 ships in the global fleet, or 24.5% of total gross tonnage as of early July 2022, according to Clarksons.
US-listed VLCC pure play DHT Holdings recently announced that it was splashing out $25m to fit the last of its scrubber-less, eco-designed VLCCs with exhaust gas cleaning systems.
The shipowner said a combination of lower cost and the current higher fuel spreads made this a compelling investment.
Greek shipowner Star Bulk Carriers recently announced that it had recouped a massive $250m outlay on scrubber retrofits in just two and a half years.
