…As Philippines backs down in S. China Sea after Beijing protest***
French shipping major CMA CGM Group has unveiled the decision to equip its nine future ships of 22,000 TEUs with engines using liquefied natural gas.
“We have made the bold decision to equip our future 22,000 TEUs vessels with a technology firmly focused on the protection of the environment. By choosing LNG, CMA CGM confirms its ambition to be a leading force in the industry in environmental protection by being a pioneer in innovative and eco-responsible technologies,” Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM Group CEO, said.
With the move, which was revealed during the COP23, UN Climate Change Conference 2017, being held in Bonn, Germany from November 6 to 18, CMA CGM would becoming the first shipping company in the world to equip giant containerships with this type of motorisation.
The company confirmed the order for the 22,000 TEU vessels earlier this year while releasing results for the second quarter of 2017. The contract is estimated to be worth USD 1.2 billion. The first ships from the order are scheduled to come into service from the end of 2019.
These containerships will be LNG-powered, a few percent of marine gas oil will only be used for the ignition in the combustion chamber. The use of LNG would yield significant benefits compared to heavy fuel oil. Namely, the move would lead to up to 25% less CO2 emissions, 99% less sulphur emissions, 99% less fine particles and 85% less nitrogen oxides emissions, CMA CGM informed.
CMA CGM Group “is firmly committed to the reduction of its carbon footprint.” Between 2005 and 2015, the group has reduced its CO2 emissions per container transported per kilometer by 50% and has set up an ambitious plan to further reduce its CO2 emissions by 30% between 2015 and 2025.
In the meantime, the Philippine defense secretary says President Rodrigo Duterte has stopped construction work on a newly formed sandbar in the disputed South China Sea after a protest from Beijing.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Wednesday the new territorial spat happened in August and prompted China and the Philippines to consider some sort of protocol or arrangement to allow both sides to prevent such incidents from spiraling out of control.
Lorenzana says the dispute over the sandbar at Sandy Cay near the Philippine-occupied Thitu island remains unresolved but both sides pledged not to occupy any new territory.
China’s claims to most of the South China Sea overlap with those by the Philippines and other neighbors. Despite that, tensions have eased since Duterte warmed up to Beijing.
World Maritime News with additional report from Fox
