The CMA CGM Group, a leading shipping group, has announced its subsidiary Containerships, an expert in Intra-Europe which it acquired in October, took delivery on December 12th of its first container ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Containerships Nord.
With Containerships, the CMA CGM Group reasserts its ambition for LNG
The 1,400-TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) Containerships Nord is the first of an order for four LNG-powered container ships. The following vessels are scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2019.
The Containerships Nord will first join CMA CGM’s NEW DUNKRUS service between Morocco and Northern Europe, before making its first LNG bunkering in Rotterdam. It will then join CMA CGM’s French-Baltic Line before entering service on Containerships’ Baltic loop upon delivery of the next two vessels.
Containerships also has a fleet of LNG-powered trucks, thereby enabling the CMA CGM Group to offer LNG throughout the transport cycle.
CMA CGM, a pioneer of the energy transition of the maritime transport industry
CMA CGM is fully committed to the protection of the environment and to the energy transition and is asserting its role as an industry leader in this regard. The Group announced in November 2017 a global innovation by deciding to power its nine future 22,000-TEU container ships with LNG.
The use of LNG represents a real technological breakthrough that allows for 99% less sulphur and fine particles emissions, 85% less nitrogen oxide emissions and 25% less CO2 emissions compared to heavy fuel oil.
CMA CGM has seen its environmental efforts rewarded by receiving a few days ago the Environment Award at the prestigious Lloyd’s List Global Awards. In 2018, the Group has also been awarded for the fourth consecutive year the “Gold Recognition Level” by the ratings agency EcoVadis.
EcoVadis assesses companies’ corporate social responsibility, particularly through the prism of environmental protection.