CMA CGM Routes New Giant Containership Through the Suez Canal

The Suez Canal Authority is highlighting the passage of a new ultra-large containership through the Red Sea and Canal. It is part of its continuing effort to restore confidence in the route and attract the major carriers to restore service using the canal.

The newly built CMA CGM Grand Palais was just completed about six weeks ago at one of the shipyards of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. According to the Suez Canal Authority, at 220,923 dwt and a capacity of 23,876 TEU, the new ship is the largest LNG-fueled containership in the world. The ship measures 400 meters (1,312 feet) in length and has a beam of 61 meters (200 feet) and is registered in Singapore.

Her naming ceremony was in the middle of March, and then she departed the first of six Chinese ports on March 26 on her maiden voyage and also made stops in Vietnam and Singapore before beginning the Indian Ocean transit. She was in the south convoy transiting the Suez Canal on Sunday, May 3, and is bound for Malta. She will then proceed to ports in France and Spain, before making a return call in Malta and again transiting the Suez Canal at the end of the month. The ship is deployed on CMA CGM’s Mediterranean Club Express route.

SCA Chairman Osama Rabie said the transit, which included the Bab al-Mandab Strait, demonstrates the renewed safety and stability in the region. He notes that CMA CGM has a long partnership with the Suez Canal Authority and continues to send vessels through the waterway after restoring transits earlier this year.

CMA CGM, however, is the exception, as most of the major carriers continue to avoid the Suez Canal and the Red Sea for security concerns. Maersk and partner Hapag-Lloyd had announced they were restoring some routes early this year. They, however, suspended the routing after the start of hostilities in the Middle East.

The SCA remains anxious to attract more transits for the waterway. It highlights the improvements made in the channel and navigation, quoting the captain of the CMA CGM vessel, saying how it improved operations. It has also provided incentives on its fees to attract ships.

MSC Cruises and Celestyal Cruises recently sent three cruise ships through the Suez Canal as they were finally repositioning after the long wait in the Persian Gulf. The ships, however, made the trip without passengers and reduced crews.

Another cruise line, however, will be making the transit with passengers in the coming days. Luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises deadheaded its Crystal Serenity (68,870 gross tons) as part of the repositioning from Mumbai. The ship made the transit of the Bab al-Mandeb and Red Sea, arriving at the Sokhna Port on May 3. They report that approximately 400 tourists were due to board the cruise ship along with the approximately 520 crew. An additional 200 passengers are expected to board the cruise ship at West Port Said as she heads into the Mediterranean.