Keel laid for CMA CGM’s 2nd LNG-powered boxship at Hudong-Zhonghua

Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), has laid the keel of a new 13,000 TEU containership powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) for French shipping giant CMA CGM.

As informed, the keel-laying ceremony took place at Changxing shipyard on 27 March. The vessel is the second in a series of six new LNG-fuelled boxships the company is building for the French liner.

The Chinese shipbuilder also launched the loading of the LNG fuel tanks for the third containership in this class.

CMA CGM’s 13,000 TEU containerships are part of CMA CGM’s $2.3 billion dual-fuel, LNG-powered containership order from April 2021, which was described as the largest single containership order in China’s shipbuilding history.

The dual-fuel vessels are the latest generation of green, environment-friendly, high-efficiency and energy-saving container ships in the world, according to Hudong-Zhonghua.

The 336-metre long and 51-metre wide ships will be equipped with a 14,000 cbm MARK III LNG cargo tank and will be able to load 2,400 containers with a maximum capacity of 13,2000 TEUs.

They will also feature flexible container loading technology and use energy-saving ducts, rudder balls and other devices for improving their performance.

Recently, CSSC Mitsui Shipbuilding Diesel Engine Co., a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Power Group, delivered “the world’s first CMD-WinGD 9X92DF dual-fuel main engine” that will be installed on CMA CGM’s 13,000 TEU containership.

According to the company, through this technology, the combustion and emission performance of the main engine is further optimized, and the fuel consumption rate could be reduced by about 5%.