The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, has announced a partnership with Shell to supply tens of thousands of tons of marine biofuel to its fleet. This quantity, which is unique in the industry, will allow the Group's ships to travel nearly 1 million kilometers, equivalent to over 80 round-trips between Rotterdam and New York, the company said in its release.
The CMA CGM Group became in 2019 the first shipowner in the world to successfully test the use of a marine biofuel onboard the container ships CMA CGM WHITE SHARK and CMA CGM ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.
The fuel used is composed of 80% of Low Sulphur Fuel Oil and 20% of a biofuel made of used cooking oil. The biofuel used reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80% and virtually eliminates sulphur oxides emissions.
This new partnership follows on the Group's initiatives for environmental protection and confirms its pioneering role in the energy transition of the shipping industry. CMA CGM was thus the first shipping company in the world to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) for ultra-large container vessels, with the ordering of a series of a nine 23,000-TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) containerships powered by LNG. A genuine technological breakthrough, LNG reduces sulphur oxides and fine particles emissions by 99%, nitrogen oxides emissions by up to 85% and CO2 emissions by around 20%.
Beyond technical solutions to limit greenhouse gas emissions, CMA CGM wants to unite all maritime transport actors in an international coalition initiated by Rodolphe Saadé, President and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, and supported by French President Emmanuel Macron. This high-level coalition will work towards the emergence of tomorrow's clean energy for de-carbonized transport.
About CMA CGM
Led by Rodolphe Saadé, the CMA CGM Group is a world leader in shipping and logistics. Its 506 vessels serve more than 420 ports on five continents around the world and carried nearly 21 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2018. With CEVA, a world leader in logistics services, CMA CGM handled more than 500,000 tons of airfreight and 1.9 million tons of inland freight in 2018. Present on every continent and in 160 countries through its network of 755 offices and 750 warehouses, the Group employs 110,000 people worldwide, of which 2,400 in Marseille where its head office is located.