French maritime transport company CMA CGM will be equipping its nine future ships of 22,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), to be delivered in 2020, with engines using liquefied natural gas (LNG).
CMA CGM, in a statement, said it will be the first shipping company in the world to equip giant container ships with this type of motorization, thus pursuing its firm commitment to reduce its carbon footprint to protect the environment and preserve ocean conservation and biodiversity.
The shipping company said the use of LNG is a real technological breakthrough that will yield significant benefits. Compared to heavy fuel oil, LNG produces up to 25% less carbon dioxide (CO2), 99% less sulphur emissions, 99% fewer fine particles, and 85% less nitrogen oxide emissions.
Moreover, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), which measures a ship’s environmental footprint, improves by 20% when ships are propelled by LNG and not fuel oil. A small amount of marine gas oil will be used by the mega ships only for the ignition in the combustion chamber, it added.
“By choosing LNG, the CMA CGM Group goes beyond current and future regulations that limit the sulphur cap to 0.5% in 2020. The Group is also fully in line with the Paris Agreement and the ongoing discussions at the international level,” CMA CGM said.
Between 2005 and 2015, the group reduced its CO2 emissions per container transported per kilometer by 50%, and has set up an ambitious plan to further reduce its CO2 emissions by 30% between 2015 and 2025.
CMA CGM chief executive officer Rodolphe Saadé stated: “We have made the bold decision to equip our future 22,000-TEU vessels with a technology firmly focused on the protection of the environment. By choosing LNG, CMA CGM confirms its ambition to be a leading force in the industry in environmental protection by being a pioneer in innovative and eco-responsible technologies.”
CMA CGM has 462 vessels calling more than 420 ports in the world on all five continents. In 2016, they carried 15.6 million TEUs.
