JAPANESE energy group Eneos has sold most of its fleet of tankers, gas carriers and bulkers to compatriot NYK for a new joint venture to be based in Singapore.
Eighteen LPG carriers, 19 product and chemical carriers and 12 bulk carriers will be shed by Eneos subsidiary Eneos Ocean Corporation, leaving EOC with 12 crude tankers (9 VLCCs and 3 aframaxes).
Last November Eneos began contributing two chemical tankers to the SNAPS pool, the Stolt NYK Asia Pacific Service, which operates to/from and within Australasia.
The 49 ships leaving EOC will be placed in a new company, of which NYK will own 80%. The transaction also includes 16 ship-owning entities and a Singapore-based management company.
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.
NYK commented: “In the energy transport business, we aim to strengthen our efforts, mainly in the LNG/LPG ship business, which we are positioning as a growth business, and to fulfill our responsibility for stable energy transport as an infrastructure company. This transaction is in line with that strategy and will further strengthen the NYK Group’s energy business.”
EOC 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.
The latest transaction is expected to be completed on 1 April 2025, subject to approval and authorisation from Japan’s Fair Trade Commission and other domestic and overseas authorities.
