On Wednesday Malta Freeport Terminals welcomed the CMA CGM Champs Elysees, one of the Group’s nine new LNG mega container ships.

Built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China, the vessel is over four football pitches in length and reaches higher than the Eiffel Tower when loaded.

The Freeport deployed three megamax quay cranes to handle the 23,000-container capacity ship with maximum efficiency.

The Champs Elysees is the second of the Group’s new LNG-powered ships and is a sister ship to the CMA CGM Jacques Saade, named after the company’s founder and chairman until his death in 2018.

The Freeport said, “These state-of-the-art ships are the result of seven years’ development and cooperation between CMA CGM’s research and development experts and industrial partners whereby every detail has been optimised to reduce the vessel’s environmental footprint.”

“They feature cutting-edge technology including a cockpit with the latest digital onboard equipment to assist the captain and crew, especially during port manoeuvres, and a straight bow with integrated bulb, rudder and propeller with a redefined design that improves hydrodynamics.”

CMA CGM plans to have a fleet of 20 LNG-powered vessels of different sizes by 2022.