NYK’s AGREEMENT to take over all of compatriot ENEOS Ocean Corporation’s shipping business, with the exception of its crude-oil tanker business, took effect yesterday [1 April].
NYK now owns 80% of the shares of NYK Energy Ocean Corporation (NEO), a new company, paying 76 billion yen subject to final determination.
NEO now operates 47 vessels, including 18 LPG carriers, 18 chemical and product tankers, and 11 cargo ships, all taken over from ENEOS Ocean. Together with the 16 LPG carriers currently operated by NYK, the NYK Group will become one of the world’s largest operators of LPG carriers.
In November 2023 ENEOS began contributing two chemical tankers to the SNAPS pool, the Stolt NYK Asia Pacific Service, which operates to/from and within Australasia. These will come under NEO’s remit.
The NYK Group said it is strengthening its LNG/LPG carrier business as a growth business, “aiming to fulfil its responsibility for stable energy transportation. We aim to achieve further growth in the energy transportation business by creating synergies through the transfer of more than 100 talented employees and a high-quality fleet of 47 vessels from ENEOS Ocean and strengthening cooperation with the ENEOS Group, which is involved in a wide range of energy businesses.
The deal was first announced last July, when Eneos said it had determined, based on the increased investment requirements, that it was optimal to have new ownership for the shipping business that could provide a growth strategy. It highlighted the recent rise in ship prices, the need to respond to global environmental regulations including CO2 emissions, and the challenges to improve safety and streamline operations.
Energy Ocean Corporation traces its origins to the late 1940s and is the contemporary iteration of a number of companies amalgamated over the intervening years, including Nissho Shipping, Tokyo Tanker, Nippon Oil Tanker, JX Tanker, and finally JX Shipping after a 2012 merger with Yuyo Steamship Co.
