CMA CGM to christen new ship at Port of Le Havre
Being the third world containership operator, CMA CGM has chosen HAROPA - Port of Le Havre to christen its new sea giant vessel, the Kerguelen. A choice which proves the confidence that the major world ship-owners have placed in the professionalism of HAROPA, the leading container port for the external trade of France.
As the largest container port for the external trade of France, HAROPA enjoys recognized expertise by shipping companies and main alliances. The container traffic, rising by 2% in 2014, is in the heart of the strategic project of HAROPA, whose target is to reach 4.8 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) by 2020. Its port facilities – and especially Port 2000 in Le Havre- make HAROPA one of the few ports of the northern range with Rotterdam to be able to accommodate the largest containerships fully laden and 24/7.
Under the British flag, the Kerguelen of CMA CGM will sail from Asia on May 10th, and will be officially christened in Le Havre on May 12th, in the presence of Jacques R. Saadé, incorporator and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, of Agnès Canayer, Senator and deputy Mayor of Le Havre, and Hervé Martel, Executive Director of the Port of Le Havre.
The christener of the vessel will be Catherine Hayot, Bernard Hayot’s wife, as Mr. Hayot is the incorporator and President of the industrial group GBH.
Delivered in March 2015 by the shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries, the Kerguelen measures 398 metres long, for 54 metres wide and can carry 17,554 TEU. Longer than four football grounds and wider than the ‘Arc de Triomphe’ (45m), the containership will be positioned departing from Le Havre on the FAL1 (French Asia Line), the emblematic service of the company which connects Europe to Asia. This line provides the customers of the group with a weekly connection on fixed day between HAROPA and Central and South China (main exporting zones in the country).
The commercial offer of CMA CGM provides connection with 275 ports in the world via HAROPA. As a major and among the first customers to have used the Port of Le Havre, CMA CGM directly employs around 500 people along the Seine corridor, including 90% in Le Havre. The shipowner’s business generates a total of 3,000 direct and related jobs in the Le Havre port place. (www.cma-cgm.fr)
As a HAROPA partner, CMA CGM is also a committed stakeholder for environmental protection. Since the creation by HAROPA in 2012 of the Environmental Trophies (ESI), which reward the most virtuous shipping companies in terms of emissions into the air, CMA CGM has every year won the award
About HAROPA - HAROPA, the 5th largest port complex in Northern Europe, is a joint venture between the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris. It is connected to every continent owing to a first-rate international shipping offer (linking 600 ports worldwide). It serves a vast hinterland whose core is in the Seine valley and the Paris region forming the biggest French consumer market area. With around 10 Normandy and Paris area partner ports, the "one-stop" hub now forms in France a global transport and logistics system, capable of providing a comprehensive end-to-end service. HAROPA handles over 120 million tons of cargo by sea and waterway each year. HAROPA business represents 160,000 jobs.