Ammonia and fertiliser maker Yara has sold its marine technology business to an African oil and gas trader.
Okapi, based in Geneva, Switzerland, but largely associated with West African oil and gas trades, has acquired Oslo-listed Yara Marine Technologies, based in Norway and Sweden.
The move marks a strategic shift for Okapi, which is seeking to diversify its business.
YMT’s solutions include fuel monitoring and analytics solutions, shore power connection to enable vessels to utilise electricity in port, and its own SOx scrubber system to allow vessels to use heavy fuel oil and comply with emissions regulations.
A three-year partnership between YMT and wind propulsion manufacturer BAR Technologies was terminated in January as BAR secured a new contract in China.
Yara International, an Oslo-listed conglomerate, first sought to sell off YMT in 2019, while largely offering only its scrubber solution.
However, as the Covid pandemic struck, this was revised into a diversification strategy in 2021, which resulted in the acquisition of Lean Marine, a Gothenburg-based company previously owned by Swedish shipowner Laurin Maritime, which had been sold to Team Tankers.
In the same year, Yara invested in a partnership with BAR Technologies and shore power connection provider NG3.
With a multi-solution portfolio under its belt, Yara was in a better position to sell the company, and in 2022, talks with Okapi began.
“Yara has been a good owner, and funded the scale-up and the diversification,” said YMT chief financial officer Aleksander Askeland, adding that the benefit of the sale is that the division is not a low priority in Yara but an important one in Okapi, so this will “inject energy into the company”.
Mohamed Ndao, CEO and founder of Okapi, described the acquisition as an important part of his company’s development.
“It is important for Okapi to be in the energy transition, and we see this as a perfect fit with our strategy,” he said.
“We do not want to be dinosaurs, and acquiring YMT is a way to achieve this,” he told TradeWinds, adding that the future of Okapi will be closely linked with the future of YMT.
He would not reveal the new name of YMT but does recognise that the name Okapi — which is a central African antelope-like mammal that resembles a cross between a giraffe and a zebra — is not well known in the maritime industry, so the new name will not include the new owner’s.
Rebuilding wind
Ndao also said Okapi will be providing resources for YMT to grow, and that will include possible acquisitions.
He admitted that discussions regarding the end of the relationship between Yara and Bar Technologies predated his interest in the acquisition, but he sees the new YMT remaining in that sector, so the acquisition of another wind solution may be on the cards.
“I’m very committed to carbon-neutral sources of energy, and wind propulsion is a key element of the know-how of Yara, so that know-how should not be lost and should be developed to provide wind propulsion systems to the industry,” Ndao said.
Askeland pointed to how the company’s onboard digital solutions are technology and fuel-agnostic, able to integrate with solutions to best optimise vessel decisions depending on onboard technology and voyage conditions.
“We believe that each vessel will need to energy-optimise different propulsion sources, batteries if they have wind, if they have solar, other technologies, air bubbles, you want to make sure that the benefit from these technologies is captured and you’re running your main propulsion systems optimally.”
The acquired company will be based in Oslo.
