Singapore welcomes maiden arrival of world's largest LNG-powered containership

SINGAPORE on Monday welcomed the maiden arrival of the world's largest containership to be fully-powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the CMA CGM-PSA Lion Terminal.

Following its port stop in Singapore, the 23,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containership, CMA CGM Jacques Saade, will depart for North Europe and the Mediterranean with more than 21,000 TEUs comprising household goods, electronics, machinery and personal protective equipment.

It is the first of CMA CGM's nine 23,000 TEU LNG-powered vessels to enter commercial operations.

At its maiden call ceremony on Oct 12, Stephane Courquin, chief executive of CMA CGM Asia-Pacific, said the vessel "marks a new era of sustainable giant ships" to join the group's fleet.

LNG allows for a 99 per cent reduction in sulphur dioxide and fine particle emissions, as well as an 85 per cent reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions. It also emits up to 20 per cent less carbon dioxide compared to fuel motorisation.

This comes amid the International Maritime Organization's reduction in limit for sulphur in fuel oil used on board ships operating outside designated emission control areas (the Baltic Sea, North Sea, North American and the United States Caribbean Sea areas) to 0.5 per cent mass by mass; that came into place on Jan 1 this year.

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Also present at Monday's ceremony was Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Transport and Foreign Affairs Chee Hong Tat, who said that the vessel's maiden voyage amid the Covid-19 pandemic "clearly embodies the resilience of the maritime industry".

"As a major transhipment port and bunkering hub, we will find innovative ways to provide for the future green fuel needs of the shipping industry," he added.

CMA CGM aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and will have eight other 23,000 TEU LNG ships joining its fleet in the coming months.

By 2022, the shipping and logistics company will add 20 LNG-powered vessels to its fleet.

Said CMA CGM's Mr Courquin: "As we move ahead with LNG, we are hopeful that there will be a wider adoption of LNG in the industry.

"This also means that the global LNG infrastructure must mature with supply sources in more parts of the world so that it will be operationally viable for carriers."