The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, has announced the arrival of its first Liquefied Natural Gas -powered container vessel at the Tema Port.
The vessel, which stood at 15,000-Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit, arrived at the MPS terminal at the Port.
This is in a press statement by the Groups Communication team, Ade available to the Ghana News Agency.
The Group said the arrival of the container vessel demonstrated its commitment to supporting West Africa’s supply chains by increasing deployed capacity.
It said it re-enforced the Group’s role as a pioneer to decarbonise shipping and logistics in the West African sub region and the world.
Elaborating on how the vessel would help decarbonise shipping and logistics in the subregion, the Group explained that the CMA CGM SCANDOLA was a dual-fuel gas powered vessel currently running on LNG, and as such would improve air quality by avoiding up to 99 per cent of sulphur emission, 92 per cent of nitrogen oxide emission and 91 per cent of particulate matter.
“Thus, once supply is available, these ships will be capable of using BioLNG (liquefied biomethane produced from biowaste), and e- methane (synthetic-methane produced from decarbonised hydrogen), a source of carbon- neutral fuel,” the statement said
The Group said it invested close to $15 billion in the decarbonising exercise.
It also indicated that it was currently operating 35 dual-fuel LNG-powered containerships, and would have almost 120 vessels capable of being powered by decarbonised fuels by 2028,
The Group also threw more light on how the container would support West Africa’s supply chain.
It said that the container vessel will not only operate in Ghana but at Lekki’s new Deep Sea Port in Nigeria, Abidjan, and Côte d’Ivoire.
The vessel is also expected to sail on CMA CGM’s West Africa Express (WAX) service connecting West Africa (Tema, LekkiAbidjan, Pointe-Noire) directly to China, South-East Asia and India.
“This will strengthen the WAX service and support customers with high capacity vessel,” the Group noted.
Stéphane Courquin, Head of CMA CGM Africa, said: “The deployment of this new generation vessel on our WAX service from Asia to West Africa and from West Africa to Asia marks a new stage in our partnership with our customers, local authorities and partners.
“We are determined to continue to support the immense potential of African logistics, paving the way for a dynamic and growing economy and proud to initiate the energy transition.”
The CMA CGM Group has been operating in Ghana for over 17 years, with currently two offices in Tema and Accra, and over 50 staff members.
The Group offers five mainline services calling the ports of Tema and Accra, connecting major global destinations with a state-of-the-art intermodal network through CEVA Logistics. Ghana is a strategic country for the CMA CGM Group in West Africa.
The Group supports Ghanaian exporters and offers its customers the best maritime and logistics solutions by providing ship consignment and transport services for key commodities such as cocoa, cashew nuts, cotton, rubber and fruit (mango-banana-pineapple).