‘CMA CGM SYMI’, a 15,000 TEU LNG-powered containership has been bunkered with LNG at Shanghai Port, with Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) providing LNG supply through ‘Haigang Weilai’, a new 20,000 m3 LNG bunkering vessel which is the current largest LNG bunkering vessel.
In the first ship-to-ship LNG simultaneous operation (SIMOPS) bunkering operation in China, CMA CGM Symi, which is deployed on the PRX line connecting China and the US, was refuelled with LNG at Yangshan Port. The ship-to-ship transfer was undertaken while the containership simultaneously carried out cargo operations .
Under an agreement signed between CMA CGM and SIPG in January, starting at the end of the first quarter of 2022, and for a duration of 10 years, SIPG will provide SIMOPS LNG bunkering service for CMA CGM’s vessels sailing from China to the US at Yangshan Port.
The CMA CGM Group is committed to making shipping and logistics more sustainable, and has joined the UN Race to Zero initiative to become a Net Zero Carbon company by 2050. To achieve this goal, CMA CGM is taking concrete actions by adopting the best available solutions, and since 2017, CMA CGM has chosen to invest in dual-fuel vessels that run on LNG. The engines installed in these vessels is capable of, and already is, using BioLNG (-67% in CO₂ emissions). In the coming years, those engines will use synthetic methane (including e-methane). The CMA CGM Group’s ‘e-methane ready’ fleet consists of 26 vessels already in service and will number 44 vessels by the end of 2024.
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO CMA CGM Group, said: “With the completion of this joint project, our group is the first shipping line to bunker LNG in China, and the first to offer full LNG-fuelled container service between China and the US West Coast. By expanding the network of world-class ports offering LNG services, this bunkering marks an important step in the energy transition.”
Gu Jinshan, Chairman SIPG, said: “Today is a historic moment. The Shanghai port’s implementation of bonded LNG bunkering for ships on international voyages has been highly valued by the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, and has received strong support from relevant departments With the joint efforts of SIPG and CMA CGM, the first bunkering of bonded LNG for ships on international voyages in Shanghai Port was successfully completed today, which is also a first in China. It is of great significance to creating a world-class business environment, improving Shanghai’s port service functions, and enhancing the comprehensive competitiveness of Shanghai as an international shipping centre. With the expansion of bonded LNG bunkering service for international voyage ships at Shanghai port, that will be conducive to promoting green and low-carbon development in international shipping industry and contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality goal.”
