Frontline buys into scrubber manufacturer
John Fredriksen’s Frontline has agreed to acquire a 20% ownership interest in Indonesia-based scrubber manufacturer Feen Marine Scrubbers (FMSI).
In addition to taking the stake, Frontline and other Fredriksen-owned companies have agreed to order FMSI scrubbers for 14 vessels, and have options to order another 22 scrubber systems at a fixed price.
Robert Macleod, CEO of Frontline Management, commented: “The economic case to install scrubbers is very compelling, particularly for larger vessels. Scrubbers installed on existing vessels provide the same benefit as those delivered from the yard on newbuildings and our solution comes at a much cheaper cost. Additionally, this transaction allows Frontline to secure the capacity to source a large volume of scrubbers, which we believe will present a challenge to many owners as the deadline for sulphur emissions compliance approaches. Our relationship with Feen Marine has been structured in a manner that will be beneficial to both parties and would not have been possible absent our significant commercial scale and long-standing industry relationships.”
Feen Marine Scrubbers was founded by Bjørnar Feen and its customers include Navig8 and Trafigura.