CMA CGM’s LNG-powered giant calls at Dunkirk

CMA CGM’s second LNG-powered 23,000 TEU containership, the CMA CGM Champs Elysees has called at Terminal des Flandres at the Grand Port Maritime of Dunkirk.

It was the first call in France by a 23,000 TEU vessel powered by liquefied natural gas, CMA CGM said.

The vessel joins forces with the CMA CGM Jacques Saade, the CMA CGM Group’s flagship, on the French Asia Line (FAL 1), the route linking Asia with Europe, with a weekly call in Dunkirk.

In November 2017, Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, made the decision to order nine 23,000 TEUs with an LNG power supply, a first in the history of the shipping industry for vessels of this size.

LNG is currently the industry solution for preserving air quality. It delivers a reduction of 99 per cent in sulfur dioxide, 91 per cent in particulate matter emissions and 92 per cent in nitrogen oxide emissions, surpassing the requirements of current regulations, CMA CGM said.

LNG also provides an initial response to the challenge of tackling climate change, the company said. An LNG-powered vessel emits up to 20 per cent less CO2 than fuel-powered systems.

This technology is one of the initial ways in which the CMA CGM Group plans to meet its target of being carbon-neutral by 2050.

The CMA CGM Group now operates seven LNG-powered containerships sailing under the French flag and will have a fleet of 26 containerships of various sizes by 2022.

The CMA CGM Champs Elysees and its eight 23,000 TEU sister ships (including the CMA CGM Jacques Saade) will be registered on the French International Register (RIF).

They will be named after iconic monuments and landmarks in the French capital (Palais Royal, Louvre, Rivoli, Montmartre, Concorde, Trocadéro and Sorbonne).