The 16,000-TEU box ship CMA CGM Jules Verne was officially inaugurated on June 4 by French President François Hollande in Marseille, France.
The CMA CGM Jules Vern, which sails under the French flag, is 396 meters long and 54 meters wide. It is the third vessel of such capacity to be delivered to the CMA CGM group, the world’s third largest container shipping group.
The newbuild has been deployed on the weekly FAL 1 (French Asia Line) and has already called at Busan, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Yantian, Port Klang, Suez and Malta. It is proceeding on its journey with scheduled port calls at Tangier, Southampton, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Malta, Suez, Khor Al Fakkan, Jebel Ali, and Port Klang before finishing her voyage in Ningbo.
Meanwhile, the French carrier joins other shipping lines planning to raise rates on the Asia-North Europe trade lane from July 1, 2013. CMA CGM said it will increase rates by US$775 per TEU for dry, OOG, paying empties, breakbulk, and reefer cargo. The rate restoration covers shipments from all Asian ports (including Japan, Southeast Asia, and Bangladesh) to all Northern Europe ports (including UK and the full range from Portugal to Russia).
