China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Jiangnan Shipyard has recently launched the first out of five 15,000 TEU LNG-powered vessels for France’s CMA CGM.
The French shipping group expects to take delivery of CMA CGM Patagonia in mid-August.
In addition, four LNG-powered sister ships, namely Kimberley, Everglade, Galapagos and Greenland, will join this vessel by 2022.
With a 366 meters length and a 51 meters width, these containerships will be able to carry up to 15,254 TEUs, including 1,800 reefers, according to CMA CGM.
Furthermore, they will all sail under the French flag between Asia and the Mediterranean, serving CMA CGM’s Mediterranean Club Express (MEX) route.
France’s Total will fuel these ultra-large container ships at the port of Marseille-Fos and in Singapore. To remind, CMA CGM and Total signed a 10-year bunkering deal back in 2019 for about 270,000 tonnes per year.
CMA CGM is certainly one of the world’s biggest promoters of LNG as fuel.
Including these five vessels and the nine 23,000 TEU giants, the French firm will have a fleet of 26 LNG-powered containerships of various sizes by 2022.
