CMA CGM, is France's largest and the world's third largest container shipping group.
The 11,400 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) container ship arrived last Thursday as part of an inaugural deployment in the French Asia Line (FAL) Westbound service between Asia and Europe, CMA CGM and Westports said in a joint statement here Tuesday.
The CMA CGM Andromeda is 131,000 gross tonnes and 363 metres in length.
It is the world's first container ship to be equipped with the state-of-the-art 'Fast Oil Recovery System' designed to prevent marine pollution.
Other innovations include a waste compactor instead of an incinerator to process shipboard waste, an electronic engine and cold ironing connections that should eliminate exhaust smoke while tied up at berth.
The statement said CMA CGM has made Westports its transshipment hub for South East Asia, with throughput expected to reach about 2.0 million TEUs this year.
"The arrival of the CMA CGM Andromeda is not only a commitment by the French Liner to Westports, but also an expression of confidence in the terminal's ability to perform on this mega size vessel," the companies said.
In November last year, the CMA CGM Vela with a 11,000 TEU was the longest and biggest-ever vessel to call in at Westports, it said.
"The vessel is four metres longer than the CMA CGM Andromeda but has less carrying capacity," it said.
CMA CGM Malaysia said the arrival of the CMA CGM Andromeda showed the group's commitment to strengthening its services and volume at Westports.
Currently, most of the large mainline container ships at Westports stand in the 8,000 to 10,000 TEU range.
Such vessels have a length of 335 to 350 metres, while the new breed of CMA CGM vessels of 11,300 to 14,000 TEU will measure about 365 metres in length, the statement said.