CMA CGM chooses Marseille-Fos port as future LNG bunkering location

Worldwide shipping and logistics group CMA CGM Group is planning to conduct liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operations for its future 15,000 TEU ships at the port of Marseille-Fos, said its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

The 15,000-TEU ships are scheduled to operate between Asia and the Mediterranean from 2021, Rodolphe Saade told French President Emmanuel Macron at the recently held French Maritime Economy Conference (Assises de l’Economie de la Mer).

As the leading French port, Marseille-Fos thus reinforces its attractiveness by offering LNG bunkering solutions for the supply of ultra-large container vessels, following the examples of the major Northern European ports, explained Saade.

This decision will perpetuate and develop the Marseille-Fos LNG activity, thus creating additional jobs. By choosing Marseille-Fos, the CMA CGM Group reaffirms its strong commitment to the Marseille region and to the development of an increasingly eco-responsible freight transport offer from the historic cradle of the company.

In his speech, Saade also suggested to the French President the formation of an international coalition for the energy transition of the transportation sector to develop a more competitive and less carbon-intensive energy source.

“With the choice of liquefied natural gas, the CMA CGM Group is a pioneer in the energy transition of the maritime industry,” he said.

“To meet the challenges ahead, we must go even further and work together: maritime, air and land carriers, logisticians, energy companies and motorists, in Europe and around the world.

“With the support of the French President, France will launch a major global coalition for the energy of tomorrow.”

Photo credit: CMA CGM
Published: 4 December, 2019