EXMAR grows in LPG, NH3 and ethylene segments by ordering four midsize vessels, and entering into joint ventures which include VLGCs and ethylene/chemical gas carriers
- 1984 Tielrode design
25,000m3 Boelwerf, Belgium - 1990 Chaconia design
28,000m3 Boelwerf, Belgium
The 1980s – the emergence of EXMAR’s LPG fleet
The 1980s saw EXMAR expand its gas carrier activities in LPG, ammonia and ethylene segments as owner, operator, charterer and international supplier to chemical and oil majors.
EXMAR’s Midsize fleet came into being in 1986 through a joint venture involving four vessels with Norwegian shipowners Christian Haaland and Bergesen with the acquisition of three Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs), EXCALIBUR (75,500m3), EXTOL (71,300m3) and FLOREAL (85,600m3) in a joint venture with Bergesen. EXMAR’s involvement with these ships and joint ventures ended by 1987, with the company forming Metromar with John Frederikson’s operation Metrogas to charter and operate VLGCs. In the same year , EXMAR ordered 4 midsize LPG vessels (28,000 – 34,000m3 range) for delivery in 1989 – 1990. Two of these vessels were sold with the other two (CHACONIA and SOMBEKE) serving the fleet for over a decade.
Metromar was a joint venture formed by EXMAR in 1987 with John Frederikson’s operation Metrogas. The purpose of this joint venture was to charter and operate Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs). This partnership was established after EXMAR’s involvement with previous joint ventures involving VLGCs ended in the same year.
The formation of Metromar marked a significant step in EXMAR’s expansion in the gas carrier industry during the 1980s. It followed EXMAR’s earlier ventures in the LPG, ammonia, and ethylene segments, which included the acquisition of several VLGCs through partnerships with Norwegian shipowners.
In addition to the VLGC operations, EXMAR and Metrogas also collaborated in the ethylene/chemical gas carrier segment. Together, they acquired three 10,500m³ ships that were under construction in Italy. These vessels, named POLAR DISCOVERY, POLAR ENDURANCE and POLAR BELGICA, were delivered in the late 1980s and early 1990s, joining EXMAR’s LPG fleet.
This partnership with Metrogas through Metromar demonstrates EXMAR’s strategy of forming strategic alliances to expand its fleet and operations in the gas shipping industry.
