The French container shipping company CMA CGM has added the CMA CGM Mermaid, the first of a new series of ten 2,000 TEU container ships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), to its fleet. This milestone represents a significant advance in the company’s sustainability and energy efficiency strategy.
The Mermaid design and the new CMA CGM fleet
The design of the fleet was carried out in collaboration with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique and the Danish engineering firm Odense Marine Technique (OMT), who transformed the concept into an industrial prototype. The construction of the vessel was entrusted to the leading South Korean shipyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD).
GTT has also played a crucial role in the project, especially in the design and conception of the gas chain and the storage tank, which has a total capacity of 1,053 m³.
Optimizing energy efficiency has been a priority in the vessel’s design. A distinctive feature is its length ratio of 204.29 meters by 29.6 meters wide, which improves the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic performance of the vessels. This is the first series in the CMA CGM fleet with superstructures located at the front for better aerodynamic performance and higher cargo capacity compared to conventional architecture.
The design also includes an inverted near-straight hull with an integrated bow bulb, intended to improve hydrodynamic performance and reduce fuel consumption by 15% per voyage.
Importantly, these vessels are equipped with MAN’s 12 MW dual LNG engines. They can also carry biogas (with 67% reduction in eq. CO2) produced from bio-waste and are convertible to use e-methane (with a reduction of 85% in eq. CO2) produced from decarbonized hydrogen.
Importantly, the new series of ten container ships will also be equipped with an alternator coupled to the main propulsion engine, which will provide the energy needed to power the electrical installations on board once at sea.
Another innovation in the series is a 1 MW hydrogen fuel cell, described as the most powerful fuel cell on board a ship, which is planned to be installed in the last of the series scheduled for delivery in January 2025. This fuel cell will allow the vessel to have zero emissions when docked.
Delivered progressively between February 2024 and January 2025, the ten new vessels will transport goods over short distances, mainly in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Between April and July, six of the series will join the Intra-Northern Europe line to serve the Baltic and Scandinavian ports from the Hamburg and Bremerhaven hubs. Four other vessels will join the Intra-Mediterranean line between the end of September and the end of November.
It should be noted that the CMA CGM Mermaid is ready to start its voyage to Northern Europe from Busan, South Korea.
CMA CGM has a fleet of around 620 vessels, including more than 30 already powered by alternative energies. The company estimates that these vessels will emit up to 20% less CO2 compared to a similar sized vessel with a conventional marine fuel design. By 2028, CMA CGM plans to have 120 vessels powered by low-carbon energies.
The most recent delivery is part of CMA CGM’s fleet renewal program, which has seen an investment of more than $15 billion. This investment is part of the group’s efforts to achieve zero net emissions. net zero emissions by 2050. by 2050.
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Source and photo: offshore-energy.biz
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