CMA CGM Orders Record-Breaking $3 Billion Worth of Containerships from CSSC in China

CMA CGM, a French container shipping company, has made a historic deal worth over $3 billion with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) to order 16 new containerships.

This order, said to be the largest ever placed for containerships in China, consists of 12 methanol dual-fuel 15,000 TEU vessels and four liquefied natural gas (LNG) duel-fuel 23,000 TEU vessels.

The ships will be built at various shipyards in China, including Jiangnan Shipyard, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, and Hudong-Zhonghua. The deal was signed during a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with CMA CGM’s CEO Rodolphe Saadé present.

This is not the first order from CMA CGM to CSSC, as the French company has ordered more than 70 containerships from the Chinese shipbuilding conglomerate over the past 10 years.

The surge in containership newbuild activity is fueled by carriers reinvesting their profits into more fuel-efficient vessels. However, the increasing order book is causing concern among analysts due to falling container shipping demand.