French carrier CMA CGM has signed an agreement with oil and gas major Total for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel the company’s recently ordered 22,000 TEU container ships in a new strategic business alliance.

Under the deal, Total is to supply around 300,000 tons of LNG per year for a period of 10 years starting in 2020, when the new boxship giants will start joining the fleet.

CMA CGM, the first shipping company in the world to equip its nine giant container ships with LNG propulsion, has selected Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions, the Total affiliate responsible for marketing marine fuels worldwide, for these future supply operations.

In February 2017, CMA CGM and Total already signed a cooperation agreement to examine the most environmentally responsible propulsion solutions to meet the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 implementation date for new sulfur regulations.

“LNG is the fuel of the future for shipping,” Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM, said, adding that the entire maritime industry will benefit from the new supply chains that will be created following this “groundbreaking decision by the CMA CGM Group.”

Under this agreement, Total will provide a tailor-made solution for LNG supply. The group is currently considering chartering on long-term basis a LNG bunkering vessel that would not only deliver fuel to CMA CGM in Europe, but also to other customers in the same region.

The new supply chains created would lead to a wider use of LNG, especially in other shipping sectors, to achieve even greater and ambitious environmental responsibility.

In addition, both companies reached an agreement in principle on the potential supply of lubricants for the nine newbuilds, giving CMA CGM access to Total Lubmarine’s products, technical expertise and global distribution network.