Shipping group strengthens role as environmental pioneer
Containerships, an expert in Intra-Europe and a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, is pleased to announce it took delivery of its fourth container ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the 1,380-TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) CONTAINERSHIPS ARCTIC.
After the successful introduction of its three sister ships, the CMA CGM Group took delivery of the CONTAINERSHIPS ARCTIC on December 10th, 2019. Once it will have made its way from Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard to Europe, the vessel’s first LNG bunkering will be carried out in Rotterdam. There, it will fuel an approximate of 200 metric tons of liquefied natural gas via ship-to-ship bunkering.
The ship will then be phased into CMA CGM’s Baltic feeder services, before joining Containerships’ BALT-1 short-sea line in early 2021.
LNG pioneer
A leading intra-European carrier, Containerships was the first European operator to use LNG as the main fuel source, including sea and land transportation. The CONTAINERSHIPS ARCTIC will perfectly complement Containerships’ innovative and sustainable multimodal transportation portfolio. This forms an integral part of the CMA CGM Group’s environmental strategy.
Thanks to its ambitious environmental initiatives, CMA CGM Group has reduced its CO2 emissions per container transported by 50% between 2005 and 2015 and has set a new reduction target of an additional 30% by 2025. This will be achieved through a number of leading initiatives:
A pioneering commitment to the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for large capacity vessels. LNG reduces sulphur oxide and fine particulate emissions by 99%, nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 85% and CO2 emissions by around 20%. By the end of 2022, the CMA CGM Group will have around 20 LNG-powered vessels;
Environmental efforts
CMA CGM has decided that none of its vessels will use the Northern Sea Routes in order to preserve the fragile and unique ecosystems of the Arctic. CMA CGM was the first Group in the world to make this commitment, which was welcomed and followed by many actors in the maritime industry;
The world’s first partnership to successfully test a latest-generation biofuel, made from recycled vegetable oils and forest residues, that reduces CO2 emissions by 80% over the entire life cycle. The test was carried out in partnership with IKEA;
The development of numerous advanced eco-technologies on the Group’s fleet to improve its performance and reduce energy consumption: optimization of bows’ shape for better hydrodynamic efficiency, innovations on the propellers and the engines to reduce fuel and oil consumption;
The creation of a Fleet Center to which all the Group’s vessels (506) are connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; this unique system in the maritime transport industry makes it possible to optimize shipping routes in order to combine operational efficiency, safety and fuel consumption optimization, thus reducing CO2 emissions.
