CMA CGM welcomes LNG-fuelled 2,000TEU ship to fleet

French shipping company the CMA CGM Group has taken delivery of a new container vessel built by HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea. The Malta-registered CMA CGM Alhambra belongs to a new series of ten containerships powered by LNG and featuring a new hull design developed to improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

Like sister ship CMA CGM Mermaid, which was handed over earlier this year, CMA CGM Alhambra has its superstructure, along with the bridge and the accommodation spaces, placed at the front. This arrangement ensures better aerodynamic performance and higher loading capacity compared to a vessel of conventional architecture.

The vessel has a length of 204.29 metres, a beam of 29.6 metres, and capacity for 2,000 TEUs. It can also load 45-foot containers that can be loaded on trailers, thus offering a more energy-efficient alternative to road transport in Europe and the Mediterranean region.

LNG was selected as one of the ship's main fuels due to its reduced emissions of SOx, NOx, and fine particulate matter. The vessel can also run on biogas produced from biowaste.

Design work on the vessel was undertaken by Danish naval architecture firm Odense Maritime Technology. Inputs into the final design were provided by CMA CGM, French shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique, and South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.