France’s CMA CGM has ordered its first methanol ships, the firm announced in its first-quarter report.
Splash247.com reported that the Marseille-headquartered, CMA CGM, the most heavily invested shipping company in the world when it comes to LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) propulsion, had placed its first methanol orders, following in the footsteps of Denmark’s Maersk.
CMA CGM revealed its further fleet expansion – which takes its order book to 69 ships – in its report for the first quarter of 2022. The firm confirmed its orders for ten smaller LNG dual-fuelled ships and revealed that it had signed for six 15 000 TEU dual-fuel methanol-powered vessels, which will join the fleet by the end of 2025.
“This first order for methanol-powered vessels is in line with CMA CGM’s strategy to expand its energy mix with the goal of achieving nett-zero carbon by 2050. CMA CGM is thus accelerating its decarbonisation trajectory by investing massively in gas and methanol fuels. The two sectors will be complementary for decarbonising the shipping industry in the years to come,” the company said in a statement.
The shipping line pioneered the move to greener energy over the past year with a series of orders for methanol-powered ships. X-Press Feeders and Danaos are among firms that have followed in its footsteps.
S&P Global Platts started rolling out daily methanol bunker fuel price assessments in September 2021, indicating that the fuel was going mainstream in the global economy.
