Shell enters into an Agreement for Employment of MOL Group's CTV off the Coast of Brazil

August 26, 2025

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) announced today that a cargo transfer vessel (CTV, ^{Note 1}) owned by its wholly owned subsidiary SeaLoading Holding AS (CEO: Yoshiro Kubo, ^{Note 2}), will be shared by TotalEnergies EP Brasil Ltda., which employs the vessel in its operation since 2020, with Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda. through OSM Do Brasil Gerenciamento De Operações Marítimas Ltda.

The CTV "SeaLoader 1" is employed by TotalEnergies for transferring crude oil produced by FPSOs located in the Santos Basin off the coast of Brazil to tankers. This agreement allows Shell to also use the SeaLoader 1 to discharge its cargo. MOL considers Shell's participation in the CTV business marks a major milestone for the future spread of CTVs in Brazil. Such a milestone was possible due to the collaboration of TotalEnergies, which was the first company to use the CTV technology in Brazil and continues to be the priority user of SeaLoader 1. To date, the two CTVs operating in Brazil have realized more than 130 successful offloading operations.

The MOL Group aims to further expand the use of CTVs, which can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and costs compared to conventional crude oil transfer using shuttle tankers, and strengthen cooperation with oil majors to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact in the supply chain from crude oil production and storage to discharging.

(Note 1) Normally, crude oil produced from the seabed by floating production, storage & offloading systems (FPSOs) is transported by crude oil tankers to the demand area. However, ordinary crude oil tankers cannot receive crude oil directly from an FPSO because their hulls are highly susceptible to waves and wind. Therefore, shuttle tankers with fixed-point holding capability usually receive crude oil, transport it to calm waters where it can be transferred from ship to ship, and reload it onto a crude oil tanker. CTVs, on the other hand, can be connected between an FPSO and a crude oil tanker, enabling direct transshipment of crude oil from an FPSO to a crude oil tanker, thus dramatically increasing the efficiency of crude oil logistics. It also reduces CO₂ emissions and costs by eliminating the need for shuttle tanker voyages. Currently, there are only two CTVs in the world, all owned by SeaLoading, which holds the patent for CTV technology.
Past press release related to CTVs: MOL and Petrobras signed a CTV Time Charter Contract and MoU to Start Negotiations on Newbuilding CTV - Reducing CO₂ Emissions and Costs Offloading Crude Oil from Sub-bed Oil Fields -

(Note 2) About SeaLoading
MOL acquired 100% of SeaLoading’s shares in 2022 after entering the CTV business in 2019.

Headquarters	Arendal, Norway
Established	2014
Representative	Yoshiro Kubo
Business	Own, market and operate 2 CTVs

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