China and France ink record shipbuilding deal

A shipbuilding deal was inked between the world's largest shipbuilder, China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), and French shipping group CMA CGM on Thursday in Beijing, comprising the construction of 16 dual-fuel ultra-large container ships worth more than 21 billion yuan. This sets the record for the largest single order by value that Chinese shipbuilders have ever received.

According to CSSC, the agreement involves building 12 dual-fuel methanol-powered boxships with a capacity of 15,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), as well as constructing four 23,000 TEUs dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered ones.

Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co Ltd will build six of the methanol-powered container ships, while the remaining six will be constructed by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd (DSIC).

With green energy of methanol as their main fuel, the 366-meter long and 51-meter wide vessels will be researched, developed, and designed independently by Chinese shipbuilding organizations, and they are capable of meeting the world's strictest emission requirements.

The LNG-powered container ships, an upgraded version of the nine vessels completed in June 2021, will be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co Ltd. Each with a length of 399.99 meters and a width of 61.3 meters, the jumbo container ships can carry up to 23,000 standard containers or a maximum of 220,000 tons of cargo.

As important strategic partners, CMA CGM Group and CSSC have signed orders for more than 70 units of high value-added green container carriers over more than a decade.