CMA CGM Group to serve French West Indies with new eco-friendly ships
The CMA CGM Group has ordered seven new biogas-powered vessels to enhance services to the French West Indies and cut carbon emissions.
The seven new container ships – four 7,300 TEU vessels and three 7,900 TEU vessels, each with 1,385 Reefer plugs – will serve Guadeloupe and Martinique, replacing smaller ships dedicated to routes between the French West Indies, France and Europe.
The vessels will be delivered gradually as of 2024.
To cope with the larger capacity vessels, CMA CGM said it will modernise and increase the capacity of the biggest shipping ports in Guadeloupe and Martinique, as well as making wharves larger.
Fort de France and Pointe à Pitre will be the starting point for transshipments to Guyana, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy and northeast Brazil.
The new order follows CMA CGM’s commitment to energy transition, as the company set the ambitious target of becoming Net Zero Carbon by 2050.
Biogas-powered vessels are expected to help to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect air quality by eliminating almost all air pollutants.
Biogas produced from biomass reduces CO2 emissions by 67 per cent compared with conventional fuel and cuts sulphur oxide emissions by 99 per cent, fine particle emissions by 91 per cent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 92 per cent.
CMA CGM said its dual fuel gas engine technology will sustain biogas as well as synthetic methane.
Earlier this month, CMA CGM reviewed its financial statements for the second quarter of 2022, showing a solid performance in spite of challenging global supply chains environment.
Revenue stood at $19.5 billion in the second quarter of 2022, a year-on-year change of 57 per cent. The result was mostly driven by the Group’s maritime shipping business.
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Source: porttechnology.org
