The largest LNG-powered containership makes first call to Dunkirk
The CMA CGM CHAMPS ELYSEES, which flies the French flag, is the largest LNG-powered containership ever to call in France, the company said in its release.
A 23,000 TEU containership supplying France with goods in time for the festive season and exporting French know-how around the world.
A class of 9 giant containerships named after iconic monuments and landmarks in Paris, equipped with a new technology to preserve air quality and accelerate the shipping industry’s energy transition.
The CMA CGM CHAMPS ELYSEES, sailing under the French flag, has called at Terminal des Flandres at the Grand Port Maritime of Dunkirk, the first call in France by a 23,000 TEU vessel powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). She joins forces with the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, the CMA CGM Group’s flagship, on the French Asia Line (FAL 1), the iconic 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 visionary 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 state-of-the-art industry solution for preserving air quality. It delivers a reduction of 99% in sulfur dioxide, 91% in particulate matter emissions and 92% in nitrogen oxide emissions, surpassing the requirements of current regulations. LNG also provides an initial response to the challenge of tackling climate change. An LNG-powered vessel emits up to 20% 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 weekly FAL 1 call in Dunkirk will keep France supplied with goods ahead of the festive season. CMA CGM also helps to export French and European products around the world. The French Asia Line’s weekly call in Dunkirk is a means of exporting high value-added goods, such as industrial equipment, as well as French agricultural products.
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 her 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).
About CMA CGM
Led by Rodolphe Saadé, the CMA CGM Group is a world leader in shipping and logistics. Its 538 vessels serve more than 420 ports around the world, on all five continents. In 2019, they transported nearly 22 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers. With CEVA Logistics, a world leader in logistics services, CMA CGM handles more than 500,000 tons of airfreight and 1.9 million tons of inland freight every year. CMA CGM is constantly innovating to offer customers new maritime, inland and logistics solutions. Present on every continent and in 160 countries through its network of 755 offices and 750 warehouses, the Group employs more than 110,000 people worldwide, of which 2,400 in Marseille where its head office is located.
