The “CMA CGM Notre Dame” is the first ship in a series of ten LNG-powered 24,212 TEU newbuildings under the French flag. The ship is due to reach Europe at the beginning of July.
The French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM has taken delivery of its new flagship, the “CMA CGM Notre Dame”. According to the shipping company, the LNG-powered newbuild is currently the largest container ship under the French flag. The ship has started its first commercial voyage in Shanghai and is expected to reach France and Europe at the beginning of July. The ship, captained by Nicolas Le Scornet, has a crew of 30 seamen.
The Megamax carrier is 400 meters long, 62 meters wide and 75 meters high. It has a capacity of 24,212 TEU. The newbuild will be deployed on the so-called “French Asia Line” (FAL), the shipping company’s Asia-Europe service based in Marseille. The rotation lasts around 102 days and includes Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Singapore, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Tangier Med.
Ten ships planned by 2028
The “CMA CGM Notre Dame” is the first of ten ships in this series and was built at the Chinese shipyard Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipyard. The newbuilds are scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2028. All units are to be registered in the French international register RIF. According to CMA CGM, this will be combined with the recruitment of 135 French seafarers who will be trained to operate the ten ships.
The “CMA CGM Notre Dame”, the first unit in this series, has an LNG tank with a capacity of 18,600 m³. In addition, the world’s second-largest shipping company has introduced an aerodynamic wind protection system to reduce energy consumption as well as intelligent energy management solutions for power supply and ventilation of refrigerated containers. The reefer capacity is 1,600 connections. Adjustments to the design are said to have increased the storage capacity by 280 boxes without increasing the dimensions of the ship.
Digitalized bridge and AI systems on board
According to the shipping company, the bridge is fully digitalized. The equipment includes navigation tools with real-time data, augmented reality systems, trajectory prediction and 360-degree visualization. AI systems are used to optimize routes, speed and energy consumption. Operations are supported by CMA CGM’s Fleet Centers in Marseille, Miami and Singapore.
Quarterly figures not convincing recently
The commissioning comes in a difficult market environment for CMA CGM. As the shipping company recently announced, the Group’s revenue remained almost stable in the first quarter of the current year at $13.2 billion, but EBITDA fell by 31.6% to $2.1 billion. The result was burdened above all by shipping: despite a 1.5% increase in transport volume to 5.9 million TEU, revenue in the maritime sector fell by 8.5% to $8 billion.
CMA CGM points to lower freight rates, geopolitical tensions and ongoing disruptions in global supply chains. At the same time, the Group continues to expand its services and multimodal corridors.
