CMA CGM launches first 23,000 TEU LNG-powered boxship

French shipping company CMA CGM has launched the first of its 23,000 TEU LNG-powered containerships at the Shanghai Jiangnan-Changxing Shipyard.

The vessel with the name CMA CGM Jacques Saade is the first of nine such box ships on order by the company.

In 2017, CMA CGM’s chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saadé unveiled the company’s decision to order a series of nine 23,000-TEU containerships that would be the first ever to be powered by liquefied natural gas.

These new vessels will join the Group’s fleet in 2020 on the French Asia Line (Asia-Northern Europe).

The first vessel in this new class of 23,000-TEU LNG-powered containerships, the CMA CGM Jacques Saade as well as its sister ships, feature hydrodynamically optimized hull forms. The bulb has been integrated into the hull profile and the bow is straight.

The vessel 400 meters long and 61 meters wide has been named after its founder Jacques Saadé.

During the launch event, Rodolphe Saadé, said, “It paves the way to a global shipping approach where economic growth and competitiveness can coexist with sustainability and the fight against climate change.”

Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD) is supplying its 12-cylinder X92DF engines to power the nine LNG-fueled containerships.

CMA CGM previously selected its compatriot GTT to design cryogenic tanks for nine LNG-fueled containerships, with 18,000 cubic meter bunker capacity.

Bureau Veritas has been selected to carry out the classification of the vessels.