MSEA Group, Arkview Capital and Scorpio Tankers have set up joint venture company called Clean Sea Transport to acquire Marinvest and its fleet of five dual-fuel methanol carriers and four LR1 product tankers.
The Marinvest methanol fleet comes attached with long-term charters to its partner Waterfront Shipping, a subsidiary of methanol producer Methanex Corporation.
Modi Mano, founder and CEO of MSEA Group (pictured, left), commented: “We are very excited about the acquisition of Marinvest, the world’s pioneer in building and operating eco-friendly methanol-fueled vessels. We believe that methanol, which reduces emissions by up to 95%, is a marine fuel for the future as evidenced by the increasing number of orders placed for methanol dual-fuel vessels. Together with the Marinvest team, we intend to be at the forefront of the shipping industry’s transition to clean fuels. Our platform will offer charterers and customers access to future-proof tonnage in the tanker, container, and dry bulk segments. The inclusion of four LR1 product tankers in the fleet underpins our counter cyclical tanker investment strategy.”
Pavel Chernyshov, co-founder of Arkview Capital, added: “Our investment in Marinvest will promote the use of clean fuels to significantly reduce the emissions footprint of the shipping industry and key customers. With only a fraction of the ocean-going fleet using clean fuels today, we believe there is a great opportunity for growth to meet the industry’s goal of significantly reducing emissions by 2050.”
Based in Sweden, Marinvest was founded in 1988 by Lars Mossberg, who developed and managed one of the world’s first methanol-powered commercial vessels.
“The sale to Clean Sea Transport will ensure sufficient capital backing to grow our methanol-fueled fleet using our competence and expertise, while servicing new and existing customers,” said Patrik Mossberg, CEO of Marinvest.
Speaking with Splash today, MSEA’s Mano said the plan was to develop the fleet further, but to also bring the methanol technology to other shipping segments.
“We very much believe this is a viable and cost effective long term solution not only for tankers but also for other segments such as containers and dry bulk. We have the capacity, know how and now the track record to to grow the business and bring real value to our environmentally minded industry counterparts,” Mano said.
