France's CMA CGM on Tuesday announced a first-ever order for Indian-built vessels, saying the country's focus on shipping infrastructure created an opportunity to diversify the group's shipbuilding supply.
CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping firm, said in a statement it had signed a letter of intent for six vessels powered by liquefied natural gas to be built by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
The order, in which South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will have a technical role, covers smaller-scale vessels with a capacity of 1,700 containers each to be delivered between 2029 and 2031, CMA CGM said.
India is aiming to expand shipbuilding and port capacity to become less reliant on foreign freight firms. Japan's second-largest shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said last month it wants to build tankers in India through tie-ups with local companies.
"The objective is to be in a position to rely on other shipbuilding countries, and India has proven to be one," CMA CGM's Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade said in an interview with India's Economic Times newspaper.
China and South Korea dominate commercial shipbuilding. China's leading role, however, is among the sources of tension in its wider trade war with the United States. Both Washington and Beijing imposed port fees this week on vessels with links to the other country.
CMA CGM is also studying the potential of having vessels built in the United States as part of investment commitments unveiled at the White House in March.
(Reuters)