CMA CGM Takes Delivery of its Largest Containership, and the Biggest Ever Built in China

CMA CGM Vasco de Gama is the third in a total of six 18,000 TEU box ships for CMA CGM

CMA CGM Monday said it has taken delivery of CMA CGM Vasco de Gama, its latest 18,000 TEU capacity box ship from Chinese shipyard China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and "one of the greenest goods transport means in the world."

At 399 meters in length and 54 meters in width, it is the largest containership of the CMA CGM Group and the largest containership ever built in China.

It is the third in a total of six 18,000 TEU box ships for CMA CGM, and will sail under the UK flag.

"Calling 11 different countries, the CMA CGM VASCO DE GAMA is positioned on one of the most emblematic lines of the CMA CGM Group: the French Asia Line - FAL. The FAL joins Europe to Asia," said CMA CGM.

"In a globalized economy, this gigantic vessel has the capacity to transport almost 200,000 tons of goods between European, Middle East and Asian markets." 

The vessel was said to be equipped with the "latest environmental technologies" including a modern engine, a twisted leading edge rudder with bulb, and an optimised hull design which together reduce CO2 emissions by 10 percent compared to the previous vessel generation.

Sister ships CMA CGM Zheng He and CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, two other vessels of the 18,000 TEUs series from the CSSC shipyards, will be delivered on September and November.

CMA CGM is ranked by Alphaliner as the world's third biggest box shipper with 1,786,941 TEU of capacity - about 9.0 percent of the global share.

In May Ship & Bunker reported that CMA CGM's profit in the first quarter of 2015 jumped over 400 percent compared to 2014.