CMA CGM Orders Ten Mega Boxships in China

French container shipping major CMA CGM has ordered ten new 15,000 TEU containerships in China – five of them to be powered by LNG. 

On March 25, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, signed two strategic agreements with Lei Fanpei, Chairman of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

CMA CGM chose to power half of these newbuilds with LNG, which allows for a significant reduction in CO2, sulphur, fine particles and nitrogen oxides emissions.

The remaining five vessels will be fitted with hybrid scrubbers, allowing for the elimination of sulphur and fine particles emissions.

Measuring 366 meters in length, they will be delivered from 2021 in replacement of ten other vessels and will be used on the Asia-Mediterranean lines, according to the company.

The new vessels are expected to support CMA CGM’s growth and modernize the company’s fleet.

Rodolphe Saadé and Lei Fanpei also signed an ambitious cooperation agreement to develop more efficient and environmentally-friendly vessels.

“Through this strategic partnership with the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, we once again opt for LNG propulsion and we reinforce our efforts to develop ever more efficient and environmentally-friendly vessels,” Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, commented on the occasion of these signatures.

“CMA CGM thereby reasserts its commitment for the protection of the environment and the energy transition of the shipping industry,” the company said.

In November 2017, CMA CGM unveiled an order for nine 22,000-TEU containerships powered by LNG, becoming the first shipping company in the world to choose this energy source for vessels of this size.