CMA CGM chief executive Rodolphe Saade has made a strong defence of LNG as a fuel after unveiling plans to operate dual-fuel neo-panamax containerships on the transpacific.
The French liner operator will operate six 15,000-teu, LNG-fuelled ships from Asia to the US West Coast later this year as it strives to offer US shippers the option to lower their carbon emissions.
The vessels will be the largest containerships powered by gas to call in the US to date.
They will be used on CMA CGM’s Pearl River Express (PRX) line, which sails from China to the US port of Los Angeles.
The first of the vessels will be deployed in October and all of the ships are expected to be in service by the end of 2022.
‘Take action and deliver’
Saade said the move was part of the company’s efforts to take action to decarbonise shipping today, rather than wait for a potentially better solution in the coming years.
“As carriers, we have a major role to play when it comes to in the protection of the environment,” he told the opening session of the JOC TPM21 conference.
“We can talk about projects that we will be able to delivery in 10 or 15 years. But what is important is what is it we are we doing now, what are the actions we are taking to protect the planet today?
“We have decided to be proactive and to take action. That is why we have decided to move forward with vessels that are LNG-propelled.”
Other fuels are available
CMA CGM is also investing in other alternative solutions such as wind-assisted propulsion, hydrogen engines and green fuels — and has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2050.
The carrier is by far the leading operator in terms of its commitment to LNG-fuelled containerships.
However, Saade acknowledged that there are doubts over the choice of LNG over a fuel.
“Maybe it is not the technology of the future, maybe there will be technologies that will be far better than LNG,” he said.
“But today what is important is not to criticise LNG, but to take action. That is why we feel LNG is the way to go. It is the best technology available for today.”
32 LNG-fuelled boxships by 2022
CMA-CGM currently operates 12 LNG-fuelled containerships. That includes five in a series of nine 23,000-teu vessels it ordered in November 2017 that operate on the Asia Europe trade.
Saade said those ships will reduce CO2 emissions by 20%, with four more to be delivered.
But the company is committed to expanding its fleet to 32 LNG-fuelled containerships of various sizes by 2022.
Most are neo-panamax boxships of 15,000 teu, including the six vessels destined for it transpacific service that are believed to be chartered from a Chinese leasing company.
CMA CGM already operates two 15,000-teu, LNG-fuelled ships delivered in September and December last year — the CMA CGM Tenere and CMA CGM Scandola (both built 2020).
These are the first two of a series of another six chartered vessels, while another five vessels of 15,000-teu for CMA CGM’s own account are scheduled for delivery this year.
In the smaller sizes, the company owns six 1,400 teu ships.
