Shipping containers belonging to CMA-CGM shipping Company are seen stacked in the port of Marseille, France, March 14, 2016. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - Container shipping group CMA CGM [CMACG.UL] has signed an agreement with Total under which the oil and gas major will supply lower emission fuels in line with stricter environmental regulations in the shipping sector.

Under a three-year memorandum of understanding, Total will become a multi-fuel supplier to CMA CGM, providing fuel oil with 0.5 percent sulfur content and liquefied natural gas (LNG), the French companies said in a statement on Wednesday.

The United Nations’ shipping agency last year set global regulations to cut the amount of sulfur emissions from vessels to 0.5 percent of fuel content as of 2020 compared with 3.5 percent currently.

Total would also supply fuel with 3.5 percent sulfur content to CMA CGM for ships equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems, or scrubbers, the companies said.

Privately owned CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container line, also signed a MoU with French energy group Engie last year to develop LNG for ships.