EC greenlights TotalEnergies and CMA CGM joint venture

The joint venture will support the expansion of LNG bunkering operations in the EU, the Commission said.

IMAGE: CMA CGM takes delivery of the CMA CGM Tivoli, its fourth dual-fuel LNG container ship. CMA CGM

The European Commission (EC) has approved a joint venture between French energy company TotalEnergies and compatriot shipping company CMA CGM.

The venture was announced in July 2025, with the aim to expand LNG bunkering in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region.

“As part of this new logistics joint venture, a new 20,000 cubic-meter LNG bunker vessel will be positioned in Rotterdam by the end of 2028 and jointly operated,” TotalEnergies said earlier.  

“The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the joint venture will have negligible activities in the European Economic Area,” the EC noted.

TotalEnergies has a global supply network of crude oil, petroleum products, LNG and biofuels. The energy company has an existing infrastructure in the ARA region, including an 18,600 cbm LNG bunker vessel Gas Agility, in operation since 2020.

CMA CGM operates over 60 LNG-capable vessels, with plans to expand its alternative-fueled fleet significantly, according to the company website.

Earlier this month, EC approved Stolt-Nielsen’s sale of a 50% stake in Avenir LNG to Japanese shipping firm Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line).

Avenir LNG currently supplies LNG and mass-balanced liquefied biomethane (LBM) at ports across the Baltic and Adriatic regions, including in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Poland and Italy.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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