French shipping giant CMA CGM has taken delivery of the 15,000 TEU Kimberley, as it continues to expand its large fleet of LNG-powered container vessels.
CSSC’s Jiangnan Shipyard delivered the dual-fuel ultra-large container vessel on Monday.
This ship is the second out of five 15,000 TEU LNG-powered vessels Jiangnan will build for CMA CGM.
In September, CMA CGM took delivery of LNG-powered Patagonia, the first vessel in this series.
Another three LNG-powered vessels, namely CMA CGM Everglade, Galapagos and Greenland, will join this fleet as well.
With a 366 meters length but also 51 meters in width, these containerships will be able to carry up to 15,254 TEUs, including 1,800 reefers, according to the French firm.
They will all sail under the French flag between Asia and the Mediterranean, serving CMA CGM’s Mediterranean Club Express (MEX) route.
CMA CGM is heavily investing in LNG as fuel and expects to have at least 44 LNG-powered ships in its fleet by 2024.
Recently, the firm teamed up with Shell to complete the first bio-LNG bunkering operation in Rotterdam.
Shell-chartered LNG London bunkered the Containerships Aurora, a 1,400 TEU LNG-powered vessel, with a nearly 10 percent blend of low carbon bio-LNG while calling at the Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals.