The French flag-flying CMA CGM CHAMPS ELYSEES is the largest LNG-powered container ship ever to be launched in France.

A 23,000 TEU container ship that delivers goods to France in time for the festive season and exports French know-how all over the world.

A class of 9 giant containerships named after famous Paris monuments and landmarks, fitted with modern air quality preservation technologies and accelerating the energy transformation of the shipping industry.

The vessel joins hands with CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, the flagship of the CMA CGM Group, on the iconic route between Asia and Europe, the French Asia Line (FAL 1), with a weekly call to Dunkirk.

Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group made a pioneering decision in November 2017 to order nine 23,000 TEUs with an LNG power supply, a first in the shipping industry's history for vessels of this scale.

LNG is currently the state-of-the-art approach for the protection of air quality in the industry. It delivers a 99 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide, 91 percent in emissions of particulate matter and 92 percent in emissions of nitrogen oxide.

An initial response to the task of addressing climate change is also offered by LNG. A vessel powered by LNG emits up to 20 percent less CO2 than systems powered by diesel. This technology is one of the initial ways the CMA CGM Group aims to achieve its carbon-neutral goal by 2050.

In Dunkirk, the weekly FAL 1 call will keep France supplied with items ahead of the festive season. CMA CGM is also helping to export worldwide French and European products. The weekly call by the French Asia Line in Dunkirk is a way of exporting commodities of high added value, such as manufacturing machinery and agricultural products.

The CMA CGM Group is now running seven French-flag containerships operated by LNG and will have a fleet of 26 containerships of different sizes by 2022.

Maritime Business World