CMA CGM

Global shipping group CMA CGM scooped the Most Accomplished Asia Pacific Ship Owner Award 2018 at the Maritime2020 Summit, held in Singapore yesterday (27 November).

CMA CGM vice president Asia regional office Mathieu Girardin received the award - which recognises the shipowner that demonstrates the greatest efforts to make its fleet more sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly - on behalf of the group.

“This industry award salutes the outstanding leadership of CMA CGM to make shipping more sustainable,' he said. 'We are proud to be the first shipping line in the world to equip its giant containerships with LNG powered engines, as it reinforces CMA CGM’s continuous commitment to the protection of the environment through its boldness and pioneer spirit. By receiving this award, we are honoured that authorities and major industry partners recognise in the CMA CGM Group the front-runner of technological innovation in Asia-Pacific.”

In a statement, CMA CGM said it is firmly committed to the reduction of its carbon footprint and to the protection of the environment. The group reduced its CO2 emissions per container transported by 50 per cent between 2005 and 2015, and it has committed to a further 30 per cent reduction by 2025.

'These important milestones are achieved by sponsoring breakthrough innovations,' a group statement said. 'These include the 2005 introduction of bamboo-floor containers, the 2017 order for nine LNG-powered giant containerships, and the ongoing investments to be compliant by January 1, 2020 with the International Maritime Organization’s new Low Sulphur Regulation. Building upon this well-established environmental commitment, the award bestowed today will further reinforce the Group’s ambition to serve as a leader on environmental progress in the shipping industry.'

CMA CGM is a transport and logistics market leader in Asia-Pacific, with a strong presence of 118 agencies in 19 countries, employing more than 4,000 people and operating four brands in the region: CMA CGM, APL and ANL for the long-haul, and CNC for Intra-Asia, the group statement said.

Since 2016, the group has set its regional hub in Singapore, where it offers more than 100 services per week thanks to its best-in-class network of Ocean Alliance, North-South and Short-Sea lines, and from where it operates its Fleet Navigation Centre for the APAC region.

Headed by Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM operates 506 vessels, which call at more than 420 ports in the world on five continents. In 2017, it carried nearly 19 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).