The world's third-largest shipping giant, French CMA CGM, has returned to the ultra-large container ship market and plans to invest approximately 20 billion yuan to order up to 12 LNG dual-fuel ships. Chinese shipyards, which have advantages in terms of price and delivery cycle, are expected to stand out in this intense international bidding process and secure this major order.
According to TradeWind, CMA CGM plans to order up to 12 container ships ranging from 21,000 TEU to 24,000 TEU, and has sent inquiries to several Asian shipyards, including those under China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, and Hengli Heavy Industry, as well as the three major South Korean shipbuilders: HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine, Hanwha Marine, and Samsung Heavy Industries. This will be CMA CGM's first order for ultra-large container ships of over 20,000 TEU in two years.
Sources said that this batch of orders from CMA CGM includes 6 confirmed vessels and 4-6 alternative vessels. The new ships will continue to adopt the LNG dual-fuel power system. However, CMA CGM may adopt a C-type fuel tank instead of the commonly used film-type fuel tank this time. This adjustment can save approximately 15 million US dollars per ship.
Some industry insiders believe that CMA CGM is highly likely to place an order with Chinese shipyards. The main reason is that Chinese shipyards offer more competitive prices and have earlier delivery times. It is reported that the current quoted price for a 21,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel vessel by a Korean shipyard is approximately 250 million US dollars (about 1.8 billion yuan), while Chinese shipyards generally offer prices lower than 230 million US dollars (about 1.656 billion yuan).
At the same time, there is a 5% to 10% difference in the quotations among various Chinese shipyards. Ship brokers disclosed that Hengli Heavy Industry proposed the most attractive quotation in this bidding, with the cost of each ship as low as 207 million US dollars (about 14.90 billion yuan), while Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipbuilding, which have had cooperative relationships with CMA CGM before, offered quotations ranging from 220 million to 230 million US dollars.
If this order is finalized, CMA CGM's number of 20,000 TEU and above ultra-large container ships (excluding alternative orders) will reach 16 (excluding the alternative orders). Two years ago, CMA CGM ordered 10 24,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. These new ships used membrane-type fuel tanks and the cost was approximately 240 million US dollars per ship. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding also became the first private shipbuilder in China to build 24,000 TEU dual-fuel ships with this order.
Apart from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, CMA CGM also favors other domestic shipyards such as Jiangnan Shipbuilding and Hudong-Zhonghua. Among them, Jiangnan Shipbuilding's cooperation with CMA CGM began in June 2013 and has cumulatively signed 35 new ship orders so far, including the 12 18000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships that CMA CGM ordered from Jiangnan Shipbuilding in February this year.
Hudong-Zhonghua is currently building 4 24000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships for CMA CGM. These new ships were ordered in 2022 and are the largest LNG dual-fuel container ships tailored for CMA CGM by Hudong-Zhonghua after it collaborated with Jiangnan Shipbuilding in 2017 to undertake 9 23000 TEU dual-fuel ships for CMA CGM. The first two of these ships have been delivered in the first half of this year.
In addition, among CMA CGM's current orders in progress that are contracted by Chinese shipyards, there are also 6 15000 TEU methanol dual-fuel ships from Dalian Shipbuilding Tianjin, and 8 9200 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered ships from Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.
On the other hand, Hengli Heavy Industry only entered the container ship construction market last year with a major order from Mediterranean Shipping Company. Since September last year, Hengli Heavy Industry has successively received 28 LNG dual-fuel ultra-large container ship orders from Mediterranean Shipping Company, including 10 21,000 TEU ships and 18 22,000 TEU ships. According to the data from Clarkson, currently in the field of ultra-large container ships of 17,000 TEU and above, Hengli Heavy Industry has the highest number of outstanding orders among all single-shipyards globally, surpassing Yangzixinfu (26 ships) and Zhoushan Changhong International (22 ships).
In South Korea, the shipyard that CMA CGM has collaborated with the most in recent years is HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Last year, CMA CGM ordered 12 15,500 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered ships from HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. In the beginning of this year, it also ordered 12 18,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered ships.
CMA CGM is one of the most active container ship newbuilding market players in recent years. According to Alphaliner's data, currently CMA CGM has as many as 94 new ships under construction with a total capacity of approximately 1.49 million TEU, ranking second globally after Mediterranean Shipping Company with 134 ships and a capacity of 229 million TEU. The company's backlog orders account for as high as 37.1% of its current fleet.
CMA CGM is also one of the shipping companies that have invested the most in dual-fuel ships. The company has set a target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. In 2024, CMA CGM received 12 newly-built LNG dual-fuel container ships. According to the data released by CMA CGM in its 2024 annual report, the company has invested nearly 20 billion US dollars (approximately 12.3 billion RMB) in the construction of 153 dual-fuel ships. These new ships can operate using low-carbon fuels such as biogas, bio-methanol, and synthetic fuels and will be delivered and put into use successively before 2029.
The latest data from Alphaliner shows that currently CMA CGM's fleet operates 684 container ships, including 333 owned ships and 351 leased ships, with a total capacity of approximately 4.02 million TEU, ranking third globally, with a market share of 12.3%. Based on the current backlog orders, once all the new ships under construction are delivered, CMA CGM's fleet capacity will exceed Maersk and rank second globally.