CMA CGM welcomes final LNG-powered ULCV

CMA CGM Sorbonne, the last LNG-fueled 23,000 TEU containership out of a series of nine giant containerships built in China, has been delivered to French shipping major CMA CGM.

The LNG-fueled containership and its eight 23,000 TEU sister vessels are equipped with dual-fuel Wingd engines and with tanks of 18,600 cubic meters. The ships are the world’s largest container vessels to run on LNG at the moment.

The 400 meters long and  61 meters wide vessels will serve the Europe-Asia route, according to the company.

The naming ceremony was held at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding under CSSC in Shanghai.

By choosing this name for the latest vessel, CMA CGM continues to pay tribute to iconic monuments and landmarks in the French capital. Its sisters vessels are named after Champs-Élysées, Palais Royal, Louvre, Rivoli, Montmartre, Concorde, and Trocadéro.

The LNG-powered ship features a straight bow with an integrated bulb, rudder and propeller with a redefined design that is believed to improve the ship’s hydrodynamics, thus reducing energy consumption.

Furthermore, the company wants to create a French center of excellence in LNG for shipping by taking part in setting up LNG bunkering infrastructures, such as in Marseille, where it will refuel its future vessels with LNG as from December 2021.

The transition to LNG as a marine fuel is part of the company’s strategy to cut emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050.

The fuel is believed to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 99%, nitrogen dioxide emissions by 92% and allows a reduction in fine particles by 91% which is well beyond current regulatory requirements.

The company said that it plans to own a fleet of 44 LNG-powered containerships by the end of 2024.