CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin Inaugrated in Long Beach

Shipping group CMA CGM announced that the 18,000 TEU capacity CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, the largest vessel ever to call the United States, will be inaugurated today in Long Beach, Calif. in the presence of Jacques R. Saadé, CMA CGM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

 

The inauguration will gather more than 600 American figures from economic, industrial, institutional and political backgrounds.

 

Alongside Jacques R. Saadé, a large CMA CGM delegation came especially for the occasion, including Rodolphe Saadé, Vice Chairman, Tanya Saadé Zeenny, Executive Officer, Farid Salem, Executive Officer, Marc Bourdon, President of CMA CGM (America) LLC, Olivier Nivoix, Vice President North America lines, Ed Aldridge, President of US Lines – a CMA CGM subsidiary - and many other Senior Managers of the Group. 

 

With her 1,300 ft. length and 18,000-TEU capacity, she is the largest container ship ever to call the United States. The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin symbolizes CMA CGM’s faith in the American economy, as well as its ambition to be a pioneer and leader in the maritime industry in the U.S., the company said.

 

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin’s Long Beach call this Friday is part of a series of four trial-calls decided by Jacques R. Saadé to prepare U.S. ports to accommodate larger vessels.

 

CMA CGM said it strongly believes that the future of American ports lies in the ability to handle such vessels. The CMA CGM Group worked with all stakeholders – dockers, harbor pilots, intermodal companies, port authorities, city officials etc. – to help terminals host these vessels and to guarantee optimized performance without generating congestion.

 

CMA CGM noted its unique history with the U.S.: Jacques R. Saadé discovered the container – a metallic box invented by Malcom McLean in 1954 - in the United States during the sixties. During an internship in New York, he observed the American army using containers to supply its troops with clothes, food and other basic commodities during the Vietnam War. He perceived and anticipated the revolution this mode of transportation would bring to exchanges on an international scale, and created CMA in 1978.

 

In 1997, he opened the first CMA CGM office in the United States. In 2007, he acquired US Lines, an American company offering regular weekly services on the Transpacific and Australasian trades from the United States.

 

Today, CMA CGM has a staff of 1,000 in the U.S. This network offers American customers 23 weekly maritime services, and connects 14 American ports to more than 150 countries in the world.

 

By choosing to inaugurate the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin in Long Beach, Calif., and naming her after one of America’s Founding Fathers, ambassador of the U.S. to France and strong defender of the friendship between the two countries, CMA CGM said it shows its commitment to the U.S., as well as its determination to be a major partner for U.S. trade.