CMA CGM Group celebrated the official commissioning of the
world’s largest LNG-powered containership. Named CMA CGM Jacques Saade in honor
of the company’s founder, the 23,000 TEU boxship was named in Shanghai with a
unique digital ceremony reflecting the nature of the times. She becomes the
first ultra large container ship to be powered by liquified natural gas.
Ordered in 2017, the new vessel is part of a class of nine
being built for the company at the Chinese CSSC shipyards. It is also part of
the company’s commitment towards achieving CMA CGM Group’s ambitious goal of
carbon neutrality by 2050.
On the occasion of the CMA CGM Jacques Saade’s coming into
service, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, declared: “The
CMA CGM Jacques Saadé embodies our commitment to the planet. This vessel has
been enhanced with the latest technologies and is the result of seven years of
research and development.”
Regardless of the power system, these containerships are
giants. They each will measure 1,312 feet in length with a 200-foot beam and
draught 52 feet. They operate with a crew of 26 and one gas management officer.
They also incorporate a range of design advancements to
optimize their hydrodynamic performance.
At the bow, they use for the first time on a vessel of this size a
straight and tapered bow shape and integrated the bulb into the profile. The
propeller and rudder have also been designed with new technologies to improve
water flow and reduce energy consumption. The LNG tank also required
significant engineering. It has a capacity of 18,600 cubic meters giving the
ship the ability to complete round trips between Asia and Europe between
refills of the tank. The shipyard reports that it took nine months to build and
install the LNG tank.
The vessel also employs a broad range of advanced
technologies. CMA CGM boats that it operates on a 100 percent digital platform
with systems including augmented reality screens on the bridge and tactical
screens for better viewing of the charts. A series of cameras mounted around
the ship provides a first a full 360-degree view around the ship.
The CMA CGM Jacques Saade and the eight additional 23 000
TEU sister ships will all be registered at the French International Register.
They will bear the names of landmark Parisian landmarks, including Champs
Elysées, Palais Royal, Louvre, Rivoli, Montmartre, Concorde, Trocadéro, and Sorbonne.
The CMA CGM Jacques Saade will start its maiden voyage as of
September 23 sailing between Asia and Northern Europe on the French Asia Line.
Voyages are scheduled to last 84 days calling at the ports of Pusan in South
Korea; Tianjin, Ningbo, Shanghai and Yantian, China; Singapore; Southampton,
Dunkirk, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Algeciras in Europe; and Port Kelang in Malaysia.
The construction of these LNG ships is also spurring the
development of the LNG bunkering business. Last week, Total, which was chosen
as the gas supplier, commissioned in Rotterdam the first of its two large LNG
bunker vessels. A second LNG bunker vessel is being built to operate from the
port of Marseille, France to also serve the CMG CMA fleet.