CMA CGM takes delivery of second LNG dual-fuel RoRo vessel

French container shipping company CMA CGM has taken delivery of the second in a series of four dual-fuel roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ships being constructed by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai) in China.

PHOTO: CMA CGM’s RoRo vessel CMA CGM Monaco. CMA CGM

The 7,000-car equivalent unit (CEU) RoRo ship, CMA CGM Monaco, can run on LNG or conventional marine fuels. It made its maiden call at Yantai, China and is expected to call Tilbury, the UK by mid-March.

It will be deployed on Asia-Europe trade route.

The first vessel of the series, CMA CGM Indianapolis, was launched in December and made its maiden call in Bremerhaven, Germany recently. The other two vessels in the series - CMA CGM Monza and CMA CGM Silverstone - are expected to join the fleet soon.

All four vessels have been chartered from Singapore-based shipping company Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) and will be operated and managed by CMA CGM’s subsidiary, CEVA Logistics.

LNG has been gaining popularity among shipowners. The global LNG-fuelled fleet is currently made up of 493 vessels, with another 221 expected to join this year, classification society DNV data shows.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a greenhouse gas (GHG) compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

By Tuhin Roy

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