Rodolphe Saadé has announced the registration of ten new LNG-powered 24,000-teu vessels under the French flag starting next year.
On the occasion of the 20th edition of the Assises de l’Économie de la Mer, Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of the CMA CGM Group, announced the entry into the fleet and registration under the French flag (French International Register – RIF) of ten liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel vessels, each with a capacity of 24,212 TEUs.
The Marseille-based container shipping line CMA CGM will deploy the new containerships on the group’s flagship route, the French Asia Line (FAL 1), which connects Northern Europe to Asia, with regular calls at Le Havre and Dunkirk.
Gradually delivered from 2026 onwards, the ten new vessels will enable the group to recruit at least 135 French seafarers, trained notably at the French National Maritime Academy (ENSM).
Each vessel will bear the name of an iconic French monument or landmark: CMA CGM Notre Dame, CMA CGM Pantheon, CMA CGM Orsay, CMA CGM Luxembourg, CMA CGM Pont Neuf, CMA CGM Versailles, CMA CGM Austerlitz, CMA CGM Nation, CMA CGM Cluny and CMA CGM Longchamp.
From their design stage, the construction of these vessels has mobilized a network of European and French suppliers, including GTT for the LNG tanks and Bureau Veritas for certification.
Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of CMA CGM Group, said: “CMA CGM has decided to register ten new 24,000 TEU vessels, among the largest in the world, under the French flag starting next year.
“Powered by liquefied natural gas, they reflect our confidence in France’s maritime sector and its people, with the recruitment of 135 French seafarers and a strengthened partnership with the French Maritime Academy (ENSM).
“These vessels will serve two major French ports, Le Havre and Dunkirk, on the Asia-Northern Europe route, reinforcing our presence in France at a time when the sea plays an increasingly strategic role in global economic and geopolitical dynamics.”
By choosing France, CMA CGM says that it is making a major investment confirming its long-term commitment to France. According to CMA CGM, this move is a strong choice in favor of French and European maritime power and sovereignty.
As CMA CGMA claims, these LNG dual-fuel vessels are compatible with biomethane and e-methane, two low-carbon alternative fuels that reduce CO2 emissions by 67% and 85% respectively, compared to the emissions of conventional marine fuels on a well-to-wake basis, while significantly cutting atmospheric pollutants, including sulfur oxides, fine particles, and nitrogen oxides.
