CMA CGM’s Saadé initiates an international coalition for the energy of tomorrow

On the occasion of the French Maritime Economy Conference (Assises de l’Economie de la Mer), Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, recommended that French President Emmanuel Macron initiate an international coalition for the energy transition of the transportation sector whose priority will be to develop a more competitive and less carbon-intensive energy source.

Rodolphe Saadé also announced the choice of Marseille-Fos as a strategic hub in the Mediterranean for the supply of LNG for its future 15,000-TEU vessels.
Finally, he shared with the French President his views of the future of the maritime industry.
An international coalition to develop the energies of tomorrow for the transportation and logistics sectors
Following on the CMA CGM Group’s pioneering commitments to emergent alternative energy solutions, Rodolphe Saadé stressed the need to improve the cooperation of all those working on near-term solutions to replace fossil fuels in the transportation and logistics sectors. The French President accepted to actively support this initiative, whose first forum could be held on the occasion of the World Conservation Congress which will be organized in Marseille in June 2020.
Formalized during the French Maritime Economy Conference, the “Eco-Energetic Transition of the Maritime Sector” project, led by the French Maritime Cluster, the ADEME (French Environment & Energy Management Agency), Bureau Veritas and CMA CGM, is a first step towards this future international partnership. The aim is to carry out an inventory of available technologies and new developments in ship propulsion. The data collected will help guide and structure future work.
CMA CGM chooses the port of Marseille-Fos for the bunkering of its future 15,000-TEU vessels
As the first shipping company in the world to have chosen LNG to power its ultra-large container vessels, CMA CGM is at the heart of the development of a global LNG supply chain. In order to supply LNG to its future 15,000-TEU ships that will operate between Asia and the Mediterranean from 2021, Rodolphe Saadé made the choice of Marseille-Fos.
As the leading French port, Marseille-Fos thus reinforces its attractiveness by offering LNG bunkering solutions for the supply of ultra-large container vessels, following the examples of the major Northern European ports. This decision will perpetuate and develop the Marseille-Fos LNG activity, thus creating additional jobs. By choosing Marseille-Fos, the CMA CGM Group reaffirms its strong commitment to the Marseille region and to the development of an increasingly eco-responsible freight transport offer from the historic cradle of the company.
A Group committed to environmentally-friendlier global economic exchanges
Rodolphe Saadé also highlighted the Group’s long-standing commitment to the emergence of an eco-responsible shipping ecosystem:
    •    In 2017, the Group became the first in the world to order LNG-powered 23,000-TEU ultra-large container vessels. The first of these, the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE, was launched in September 2019 and will make an exceptional call to Marseille in June 2020;
    •    CMA CGM was the first shipping company to decide not to use the Northern Sea Route. Since then, many carriers have followed this major decision to protect the Arctic environment and its exceptional biodiversity;
    •    For over ten years, the Group has significantly reduced the speed of its vessels.
A strong vision for the future of the maritime industry
Finally, during his speech, Rodolphe Saadé shared his vision of the future of the maritime industry, with a focus on:
    •    Logistics: in 2019, CMA CGM completed the acquisition of CEVA Logistics, a major global logistics player. Rodolphe Saadé decided to transfer CEVA Logistics’ headquarters to Marseille, near CMA CGM’s global head office. More than 200 jobs being created in Marseille.
    •    Digitization: the Group has proceeded with its digital transformation in order to differentiate itself from its competitors, to better serve its customers and to improve its performance. CMA CGM is thus carrying out numerous projects in the fields of blockchain, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.
During his discussions with the French President, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, declared: “With the choice of liquefied natural gas, the CMA CGM Group is a pioneer in the energy transition of the maritime industry. To meet the challenges ahead, we must go even further and work together: maritime, air and land carriers, logisticians, energy companies and motorists, in Europe and around the world. With the support of the French President, France will launch a major global coalition for the energy of tomorrow.”