CMA CGM inks first MoU with ENGIE to promote LNG
CMA CGM and ENGIE announce today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to promote LNG as the marine fuel for tomorrow’s container vessels, the liner operator said in a press release.
Farid Salem, Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, and Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE, signed the agreement today at the Marseille headquarters of CMA CGM.
The agreement focuses on:
A joint CMA CGM and ENGIE technical and economic study on LNG as a fuel for tomorrow’s container ships;
A study about the development of engineering specifications for a bunkering vessel adapted to LNG powered container ships, so as to improve over time the logistics chain necessary to fueling this type of vessels, thus promoting their deployment.
LNG use offers many environmental advantages compared to the use of heavy fuel oil: it significantly reduces CO2 emissions, eliminates sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions, drastically reduces nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matters.
The two groups consider that the use of LNG as a marine fuel is destined to expand in the near future and intend to be active players in this development.
Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE comments: "We are most pleased with this cooperation with CMA CGM, which is a leader of maritime transport at the international level. For ENGIE, natural gas is a key element in the energy transition. The Group is actively engaged in the development of the diverse uses of retail LNG, especially for transportation. Ultimately, LNG as marine fuel will lead to a massive reduction in pollutant emissions".
Farid Salem, Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group says: "Liquefied natural gas has many environmental advantages. It is undoubtedly the fuel of the future of the maritime shipping industry that will progressively substitute heavy fuel oil over the next few decades. CMA CGM wishes to be a pioneer in this area. And with the agreement with ENGIE this allows the company to move one step closer."
This agreement rounds out the research program undertaken since 2011 by CMA CGM to design ever more environment-friendly large capacity container ships. In that regard, CMA CGM participates in two programs:
The first is about the development of a “Dual-Fuel” large capacity container ship whose propulsion system offers to choose between using liquefied natural gas or fuel oil only. Launched in 2011 by CMA CGM, through its subsidiary CMA Ships, in partnership with the Korean shipbuilder DSME, the design of this vessel, as a proof of its success, was approved by Bureau Veritas.
The second project aims at designing a large capacity container-ship using a combined gas and steam turbine system to power this ultra large container ship. The "PERFECt" project was launched in 2015 in partnership with DNV GL, GTT, ABB, Caterpillar, and OMT.
ENGIE manages a large LNG supply portfolio and has a significant presence in regasification terminals in Europe and worldwide. In 2014, the Group initiated a partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK in LNG marine fuel development and ordered the first purpose-built LNG bunkering vessel in the market. Delivery to their first customer is expected in early 2017 at Zeebrugge, Belgium. To go even further, last September the three groups launched a joint new brand, Gas4Sea, offering a clean, reliable, safe, and cost-effective ship-to-ship supply of LNG for the maritime sector.
