CMA CGM has inaugurated its ninth 23,000 TEU liquified natural gas (LNG) powered container ship and completed a launching process that began in September 2020 in response to challenges in the logistics chain.
On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, the ‘CMA CGM Sorbonne’ was unveiled at a ceremony held at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding under CSSC in Shanghai in the presence of Ludovic Renou, Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM China.
The new fleet of vessels has added approximately 200,000 TEU of capacity to CMA CGM’s French Asia 1 line, an 11.5% increase since the summer of 2020 that the carrier described as an “unparalleled response” to the industry’s problems.
It said the vessels “present a host of innovations” which are the result of lengthy cooperation between research and development teams and industrial partners.
Carriers across the world have unveiled new vessel fleets to meet growing demand for containerised goods, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and boom in e-commerce.
In addition to their LNG engines, the vessels feature cutting-edge technologies including a control deck with the latest onboard digital technologies to assist the captain and crew during port manoeuvres.
By 2024, the carrier said 44 of its vessels will be powered by LNG, which it described as one of the first steps towards achieving its target to become carbon neutral by 2050.
This is as well as the advancements it made in April 2021 when it supported the production of 12,000 tonnes of biomethane, a renewable green gas produced from waste from European farms.
“The CMA CGM Group is fully committed to developing more effective, more resilient and more sustainable international trade, in particular by means of more responsible transportation and logistics solutions that protect people and the planet,” a statement read.
