France’s CMA CGM said Thursday it would dedicate six LNG-powered containerships to the US market as part of the shipping firm’s efforts to slash emissions.
The company will take delivery of the first of these new vessels in October this year while it expects all of the ships to go into operation by the end of 2022.
Following delivery, CMA GCM said it would deploy them on its Pearl River Express (PRX) line, which sails from China to the Port of Los Angeles.
The group currently operates 12 LNG-powered containerships, a fleet that will grow to 32 containerships of various sizes by 2022, CMA CGM said.
The firm did not reveal more information on the LNG-powered vessels. CMA CGM previously said it planned a fleet of 26 such vessels meaning that it added six more to the total count.
CMA CGM has ordered nine 23,000 TEU LNG-powered ULCVs and five 15,000 TEU ships in China. It has also chartered five 15,000 TEU LNG-powered vessels from Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping but also owns smaller vessels.