“We have no other choice but to order new ships for expansion.” — CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping giant, is accelerating the construction of its green fleet, aiming to surpass Maersk and become one of the top two globally.
Recently, CMA CGM officially signed an order with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. (DSIC) for the construction of 10 LNG dual-fuel 22,000 TEU ultra-large container ships. The new ships are expected to be delivered between 2028 and 2029, with a unit cost of approximately $210 million and a total contract value of about $2.1 billion (approximately RMB 15.619 billion).
Last week, DSIC announced it had secured an order for 10 dual-fuel ultra-large container ships from a European shipowner, further consolidating its leading position in the field of large clean energy vessels. Although DSIC did not disclose the shipowner’s identity at the time, it is reported that this order came from CMA CGM. Clarksons’ data indicates that all 10 ships will be built by DSIC’s Tianjin facility.
For reference, Clarksons’ data shows that the current newbuilding price for a 24,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ship is approximately $271 million, slightly lower than the $273 million during the same period last year.
Sources said that CMA CGM’s new ships are likely to use Type C fuel tanks instead of the commonly used membrane-type tanks, an adjustment that could save about $15 million per ship.
This order sets a new record for DSIC’s container ship construction. According to Clarksons’ data, the largest container ships delivered by DSIC to date are two 20,000 TEU ships built for COSCO Shipping Group, the “COSCO Shipping Gemini” and “COSCO Shipping Libra”, delivered and operational in 2018. These ships were originally conventional fuel-powered but have since been converted to methanol dual-fuel power.
CMA CGM is a “long-standing customer” of DSIC. As early as 2022, CMA CGM’s first batch of six 15,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship orders was undertaken by DSIC. This order was CMA CGM’s first for methanol dual-fuel ships and DSIC’s first construction of methanol-powered container ships. These six ships are expected to be delivered successively this year and next.
The latest order marks CMA CGM’s first order for ultra-large container ships exceeding 20,000 TEU in two years, and its third large container ship order this year. Previously, in early 2024, CMA CGM placed orders with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Jiangnan Shipyard for 12 18,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG container ships each.
Including the latest order, Alphaliner data shows that CMA CGM currently has 132 new ships on order, with a capacity exceeding 1.8 million TEU, ranking second globally, behind only MSC’s 122 ships totaling 2.15 million TEU. After all current orders are delivered, CMA CGM will surpass Maersk to become the world’s second-largest container shipping company.
CMA CGM’s Chief Financial Officer, Ramon Fernandez, stated that by 2029, CMA CGM expects to operate over 160 dual-fuel ships. If owned and chartered vessels are included, its total dual-fuel fleet will exceed 200 ships.
Fernandez explained that CMA CGM’s massive newbuilding program is “not just for market share.” He pointed out: “The new ships we are ordering are all dual-fuel. The entire shipping industry must collectively advance decarbonization, and we can only achieve this by having green ships. Older vessels must be replaced by ships using low-carbon alternative fuels. There is no other choice.”
CMA CGM is one of the container lines investing the most in ordering dual-fuel ships and has set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In 2024, CMA CGM took delivery of 12 new LNG dual-fuel container ships. According to data released in CMA CGM’s full-year 2024 financial report, the company has invested nearly $20 billion (approximately RMB 141.991 billion) in ordering 153 dual-fuel ships. These new vessels can operate on low-carbon fuels such as biomethane, biomethanol, and synthetic fuels and will be delivered successively before 2029.
In addition to the DSIC order, in October this year, CMA CGM also signed a Letter of Intent with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in India to build six 1,700 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered feeder container ships, becoming the first major shipping company to order dual-fuel container ships from an Indian shipyard.
Furthermore, CMA CGM is also considering building container ships in the United States. Earlier this year, CMA CGM announced it would invest $20 billion over the next four years to strengthen its maritime, logistics, and supply chain capabilities in the US, promoting the development of the US maritime economy and shipbuilding capacity. Fernandez confirmed that CMA CGM has been in discussions with US government departments to explore how to meet the conditions for building some of its ships in the United States.
According to the latest data from Alphaliner, CMA CGM’s fleet currently operates 706 container ships, including 347 owned vessels and 359 chartered vessels, with a total capacity of approximately 4.08 million TEU, ranking third globally with a market share of 12.3%.
In the third quarter of this year, CMA CGM’s revenue reached $14.04 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 11.3%. EBITDA was $2.96 billion, down 40.5% year-on-year. The EBITDA margin was 21.0%, down 10.4 percentage points. Net profit was $750 million, a decrease of 72.6% compared to the same period last year.
Specifically, CMA CGM’s shipping business revenue in the third quarter was $8.964 billion, down 17.4% year-on-year; EBITDA was $2.228 billion, down 48.8% year-on-year. During the same period, cargo volume increased by 2.3% to 6.17 million TEU. Average revenue per TEU was $1,452, a decrease of 19.2% year-on-year. CMA CGM specifically mentioned that, amidst market volatility, the company still achieved volume growth, demonstrating its strong ability to flexibly deploy assets to capture demand.
