LNG-fueled CMA CGM Greenland to welcome the Olympic flame in Marseille

CMA CGM Greenland, a 15,000 TEU containership powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), will, alongside more than 1,024 other vessels, take part in the grand nautical parade around the Belem and the arrival of the Olympic Flame in Marseille on May 8.

The Olympic flame is on its way to France from Greece by sea, aboard the Bellem, a historic French three-masted ship first launched in 1896.

For the occasion, the boxship will unveil the Paris 2024 logo on its 15,000 containers, an operation being carried out in Fos-sur-Mer from May 5.

Built in September 2022 under the French first register flag, and homeported in MarseilleFos, the CMA CGM Greenland is part of a series of five 15,000 TEU vessels deployed between Asia and the Mediterranean.

Featuring a length of 366 meters and a width of 51 meters, CMA CGM Greenland and its sisterships – CMA CGM Patagonia, CMA CGM Kimberley, CMA CGM Everglade and CMA CGM Galapagos – are named after sensitive natural regions.

CMA CGM Greenland, equipped with WinGD engines and a GTT Mark III LNG tank in the hull, is said to embody “the commitment of the CMA CGM Group and its employees to transporting the equipment essential for the Olympic Flame’s journey through the French overseas regions and Corsica”.

As the official logistics partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, CMA CGM and its subsidiary CEVA Logistics are handling the maritime transport of the equipment from the port of Piraeus in Greece. After its arrival in Le Havre, this equipment is stored in the Paris region before being gradually transported to Corsica, French Guiana, Reunion, Tahiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique on board 20-foot containers.

In related news, CMA CGM and Bpifrance launched recently a €200 million fund dedicated to accelerating the energy transition in the French maritime industry. The initiative will make it possible to finance decarbonization projects carried out by French industrial, maritime and port players in different segments — fishing, passenger transport, maritime freight, boating, ports and terminals.