Damen Shiprepair to boost the efficiency of up to 100 CMA CGM-owned container ships
Damen Shiprepair is to boost the efficiency of up to 100 CMA CGM container ships (Source: Damen)
In a major ten-year project, Damen Shiprepair is to boost the operational efficiency of up to 100 container ships owned by Marseille-based container shipping giant CMA CGM. The work will be spread over two shipyards in the Damen group of repair yards; Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam, in the Netherlands; and Damen Shiprepair Dunkirk, in northern France.
Work to be carried out at the two Damen shipyards includes modifications and upgrades on the container ships that are expected to return fuel savings of up to 10%, said Damen. A key feature of the work is the fitting of new fuel-saving bulbs on the bows of the container ships.
Up until now, CMA CGM has been undertaking this complex work at shipyards in China, and some vessels were modified in the Middle East. However, this new agreement means that this work will now be done at European shipyards.
Nine vessels are to be upgraded in 2024 – five at Damen Shiprepair Dunkirk and four at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam. Three vessels will be fitted with the new bow bulb, with the first being the 2019-built LNG-powered feeder vessel Containerships Polar. The 120-tonne bow bulb has been prefabricated at Damen’s Amsterdam yard and the 1,380 TEU capacity vessel is already at the shipyard waiting for installation work to start, having arrived on April 15th.
The other two vessels to be fitted with the new bow bulb are sister ship Containerships Aurora and the much larger, 15,052 TEU capacity CMA CGM Arctic. The two feeder container ships are operated by Hamburg-based Containerships CMA CGM GmbH, a subsidiary of the Marseille-based giant.
While the bow bulb retrofits will yield fuel savings in the range of 2-5%, CMA CGM is looking at other upgrades that can further contribute to the efficiency of its fleet. To assist the French container ship operator in meeting its goals, Damen is also offering packages that not only involve the bow bulb, but also a propeller upgrade, modifications to the propeller nozzle, and the application of silicone-based antifouling coatings. Each of these upgrades will deliver additional fuel economies of between 2-5%, yielding a return of investment in less than three years, as well as significant reductions in carbon and other emissions.
Three vessels of the CMA CGM fleet will also be fitted with shore power connections.
