Nicolas Sartini, Senior Vice President Asia / Europe Lines, CMA CGM Group said that: "This new giant of the seas is a strategic asset for CMA CGM while volumes and freight rates on the Asia to Europe market are recovering.
"Thanks to its size and equipment, this modern and competitive vessel enables the Group to meet its growing customer demand on this key market while ensuring economies of scale."
The Christophe Colomb also has a number of new technological features to improve both its fuel use and emissions standards which are expected to both be cut in the region of about 5%. Moreover, the tanks of the Christophe Colomb, located underneath the superstructure, are protected by the double hull of the vessel, in compliance with the MARPOL 12A regulation which will come into effect in August 2010.
The vessel will start its rotation in Shanghai on the 11th of November and then on to Ningbo (12th of November), Xiamen (14th of November), Hong Kong (15th of November), Yantian (16th of November) and Algeciras (3rd of December) before calling Rotterdam on the 7th of December and, finally, Bremerhaven on the 9th of December.