CMA CGM orders six methanol-powered container ships
French container shipping firm CMA CGM has put in an order for six 15,000 TEU capacity dual-fuel methanol-powered vessels to be inducted by 2025.
PHOTO: Gas Vitality supplying LNG to the CMA CGM Bali. La Provence
CMA CGM announced the new orders in its first-quarter results. When these dual-fuel container ships are powered by methanol they are likely to become the shipping giant's first vessels with zero emission potential.
A total of 16 dual-fuelled vessels, including 10 LNG and six methanol-powered vessels, is set to bring its order book to 69.
The company has invested heavily in gas and methanol-powered vessels as part of its decarbonisation strategy to reach a net zero emissions by 2050 target.
In 2017, CMA CGM unveiled a plan to invest in dual-fuel LNG vessels that can run on bioLNG, which it says can cut carbon dioxide emissions by three-quarters.
LNG by itself is widely estimated to have around 25% lower carbon dioxide emissions than conventional bunker fuels.
The container shipping firm is working to develop LNG bunkering infrastructure. Earlier this year, its 15,000 TEU container ship CMA CGM Bali performed its first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in France’s Marseille-Fos.
CMA CGM currently operates 29 e-methane ready vessels and plans to deploy a total of 77 of them by 2026.
