LNG

CMA CGM, the French container shipping line based in the Mediterranean port of Marseille and the third-largest in the world and with a growing fleet of LNG-powered vessels, has a new service to the LNG fuel location of Ennore port on the East Coast of India.

The containerships will expand port coverage with a direct call to Ennore, near Chennai in India, on the Westbound leg of the service connecting North Europe and the Mediterranean with Oceania as from June 2023.

“This new call will offer our customers a fast export connection from the main commercial area in South East India to Europe together with a direct import connection from Australia and Singapore,” said CMA CGM.

“Ennore is also a natural gateway from/to the Inland Container Depot of Bangalore covered with efficient rail connectivity,” added the French company.

The other LNG fuel ports in CMA CGM’s so-called NEMO service include Fos Sur Mer near Marseille, La Spezia in Italy, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Malta and Singapore.

French LNG storage tanks designer GTT is supplying the tanks for six more LNG-powered containerships ordered from South Korea by CMA CGM.

The six containerships are being constructed at the Korean shipyard of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

The vessels, each capable of carrying 8,000 containers, will be equipped with an LNG fuel tank with a capacity of 6,000 cubic metres.

The deliveries of the vessels are scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025.

CMA CGM is a pioneer of LNG-powered containerships and has about 12 more of the vessels being built in China.

The shipping line has said it is aiming to have a fleet of 44 LNG-fuelled containerships by 2024.

The 12 China-built vessels will be delivered between the last quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024.

The construction contracts for those CMA CGM newbuilds were awarded to Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard Co.

Each of the Chinese yards is building six vessels able to carry between 13,000 and 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of containers.

The first ever LNG-powered containership was delivered to CMA CGM from the Hudong-Zhonghua yard and entered commercial operation in September 2020.

The 23,000 TEU “CMA CGM Jacques Saadé” was named after the late Lebanon-born founder of the shipping line and father of current Chairman Rodolphe Saadé.

The France-based global container shipping line, CMA CGM, has seen the first of nine LNG-powered vessels join its fleet and the ship’s maiden voyage starts on September 23 on the “French Asia” route calling at 12 ports in 84 days.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French technology firm for designs of systems for the maritime transportation and storage of liquefied natural gas, has been chosen by Marseille-based shipping group CMA CGM to provide services for its LNG-powered container ships.

GTT said it would provide assistance for the commissioning, operation and maintenance of CMA CGM’s future 23,000 TFE (twenty-foot equivalent) LNG-powered container ships equipped with GTT membrane containment technologies. 

Paris-based GTT noted that with 18,600 cubic metres capacity LNG tanks, these ships will be the largest container ships in the world to use LNG as fuel.

Bunkering vessels owned by French energy major Total and Mitsui Osk Lines of Japan will supply 300,000 tonnes per annum of LNG fuel to CMA CGM and its nine ultra-large newbuild containerships set to operate on the Europe-Asia trade route.

The GTT service package includes the training of crews of the CMA CGM fleet through the provision of the G-Sim training simulator, specially adapted to replicate the LNG operations of CMA CGM vessels.

“GTT will also provide on board technical assistance during the commissioning of LNG tanks and during the first bunkering operations,” explained the tanks designer.

It explained that, if necessary, CMA CGM may use a GTT service called “Hears” to obtain 24/7 technical assistance. 

“Thanks to the data continuously collected on board, the GTT teams will be able to assist and advise CMA CGM teams as closely as possible,” said GTT.

“In addition, the analysis tools integrated in the connected version will allow a follow-up over time of the tanks and their insulation spaces,” it added.

The company said its GTT services portfolio facilitates a smooth entry into the world of LNG for ship-owners.

“We are constantly expanding our range of services to meet the new expectations of ship-owners and are therefore very pleased to be able to support CMA CGM in the commissioning, operation and maintenance of its LNG-powered vessels,”  said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

CMA CGM is one of the world’s largest container vessel operators with over 500 ships.

The first of the ultra-large LNG-power containerships took to the water at the Shanghai Jiangnan-Changxing Shipyard in October 2019 at an event attended by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM.

The first of the nine newbuilds was named “CMA CGM Jacques Saade” after the shipping line’s Beirut-born founder who died in June 2018. 

The French CMA CGM shipping group, one of the world’s largest container vessel operators with over 500 ships, has attended the launching of the first of its series of nine 23,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels powered by liquefied natural gas to meet new emission requirements and with technology additions on the bridge and elsewhere..