CMA CGM has added a new-generation liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered containership to its French Asia Line, one of the group’s strategic services on the Asia-Europe trade corridor.
The CMA CGM NOTRE DAME, the largest containership operating under the French flag, began its maiden commercial voyage in Shanghai and will arrive in France in early July.
Designed to carry up to 24 212 containers (TEU), the boxship is 400 metres long, 62 metres wide and 75 metres high.
The vessel will be deployed on the French Asia Line (FAL), which connects Asia and Europe. It will operate on a rotation of approximately 102 days, calling at ports including Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Singapore, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Tangier Med.
The CMA CGM NOTRE DAME is operated by a crew of around 30 seafarers under the command of Captain Nicolas Le Scornet.
The vessel would be the first in a series of ten named after heritage landmarks, said Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM Group Chairman and CEO. They will be delivered between 2026 and 2028 and progressively deployed across major maritime trade routes. Saadé said 135 French seafarers would be recruited and trained to operate the vessels.
The LNG-powered containership forms part of CMA CGM’s Net Zero Carbon 2050 target. It incorporates equipment designed to reduce energy consumption during operations, including an aerodynamic windshield system and an 18 600 cubic metre LNG tank for Asia-Europe routes. It also features energy-management systems for powering and ventilating refrigerated containers, with capacity for 1 600 reefer plugs.
The ship’s design allows it to carry an additional 280 containers without increasing its dimensions.
Artificial intelligence systems are used for navigation, routing and energy management, while trajectory prediction and 360-degree visualisation tools assist with manoeuvring during port operations.
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