CMA CGM rolls out red carpet for new LNG-fueled boxship at Chinese yard

French shipping colossal CMA CGM has rung the welcome bell to the first unit in a series of four 24,000 TEUs container vessels powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) that the company booked at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

Per France’s classification society Bureau Veritas (BV), the CMA CGM Seine was handed over to its owner on April 15, 2025—around a month after wrapping up sea trials at pier no. 3 of the shipbuilder’s western plant. The newbuild boasts a length of 399.9 meters and a beam of 61.3 meters, with an exact carrying capacity of 23,876 TEUs.

According to BV, the newbuilding could play a ‘big’ role in its owner’s low-carbon vision owing to the environmentally friendly technology that has been fitted onto it. Specifically, the vessel integrates a dual-fuel propulsion system supported by GTT Mark III membrane-type LNG bunker tanks of a 18,6000 cbm total capacity. This is projected to ‘boost’ both the unit’s environmental performance and its operational efficiency.

In addition to this, as divulged by Bureau Veritas, CMA CGM Seine was outfitted with a WinGD W12X92DF-2.0 dual-fuel main engine, incorporating the intelligent control by exhaust recycling (iCER) system—a configuration said to slash methane emissions at a ‘great’ level and enable compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Tier III emission stipulations.

The newbuilding was reportedly also equipped with a SmartEye intelligent monitoring system as well as a TotalCommand full-control system, which are anticipated to minimize berthing time and ‘improve’ port operations.

To remind, the CMA CGM Seine is hailed as an upgraded, optimized, and eco-friendly version of “the world’s first” 23,000 TEU dual-fuel containership delivered by Hudong-Zhonghua in September 2020.

The construction of the vessel began in November 2023, at which time the builder, along with compatriot Jiangnan Shipyard, was said to be working on a total of nine sister-ships for CMA CGM.

Ever since, the Marseille-headquartered shipping giant has repeatedly turned to Chinese yards for additional bookings, all focused on environmentally conscious vessels.

Among those were the ten 5,500 TEU boxships ordered at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the last unit of which, called the CMA CGM Tiga, was delivered in early April 2025. This came just around a month after the CMA CGM Group announced that it would pour a whopping $2.6 billion for a dozen dual-fuel LNG container vessels at Jiangnan Shipyard.

The units are slated for a handover in 2028 and 2029.