CMA CGM Christens 18,000 TEU Mega Ship

The CMA CGM Group’s largest vessel, CMA CGM Georg Forster, was christened today in Hamburg, Germany.

The new ultra large vessel, a 398-meter-long, 18,000 TEU containership, is the second in a series of six vessels of the same size that will enter service for CMA CGM in 2015, joining the group’s fleet of 460 ships.

The U.K. flagged Georg Forster was delivered to the CMA CGM Group on June 2 in South Korea, when she began her first rotation sailing the group’s French Asia Line (FAL). She will call 11 different countries, including stops to ports in China, Malaysia, Egypt, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast up to Germany.

CMA CGM said the new containership is equipped with an engine of the latest generation, a twisted leading edge rudder with bulb, an optimized hull design, collectively decreasing the ship’s CO2 emissions by 10 percent compared to the previous vessel generation. With an estimated emission of 37g of CO2/km for each container, the CMA CGM Georg Forster is regarded by the shipper as one of the greenest goods transport means in the world. 

The vessel is named after the famous 18th century German travel writer, who was part of the James Cook’s expedition in Southern Seas. Forster is considered to be one of the founders of ethnology and anthropology.

Present at Georg Forster’s christening ceremony were Jacques R. Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM Group; the vessel’s godmother, Christine Kuehne; as well as many institutional and political representatives, partners and clients.