Today, Malta welcomed the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, the world’s largest containership powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), as she makes her first call in Europe at Malta Freeport Terminals with the presence of Dr Ian Borg, Minister for Transport, Ms Julia Farrugia Portelli, Minister for Tourism and H.E. Ms Brigitte Curmi, French Ambassador to Malta. This represents a highly symbolic call for the CMA CGM Group’s flagship, just a few days after she set a new world record for the number of full containers loaded on a single journey.
The CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, the largest containership in the world with a capacity of 23,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent containers) and powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), has arrived in Malta, her first port of call in Europe. The CMA CGM Group’s flagship, which set a new world record when she left Singapore with a load of 20,723 full containers aboard, crossed the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal to reach the Mediterranean, and will shortly continue her journey to Northern Europe.
The CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE joined the Group’s fleet on September 22nd in a ceremony held in Shanghai and is currently making her maiden voyage on the Group’s iconic French Asia Line (FAL 1) connecting Asia to Europe. The line provides a weekly service comprising 13 calls over 84 days.
In November 2017, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, made the ground-breaking decision to fit the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE and her 8 sister ships with a LNG-powered engine, a first in the shipping industry for vessels of their size. This decision demonstrated the CMA CGM Group’s resolve to champion the energy transition in the shipping sector.
