CMA CGM Takes Delivery of New Flagship, the 20,600 TEU CMA CGM Antoine De Saint Exupery.

Updated: October 23, 2023 (Originally published January 26, 2018)

French shipping giant CMA CGM has taken delivery of its new flagship, the 20,600 TEU capacity CMA CGM Antoine De Saint Exupery.

The vessel is now biggest containership flying the French flag.

CMA CGM Antoine De Saint Exupery will enter into service on 6 February 2018 on the FAL 1 service (French Asia Line 1), connecting Asia to Northern Europe. The service offers a weekly service to 16 ports of call for a duration of 84 days.

The 400-meter long by 59-meter wide vessel has the capacity to carry 20,600 twenty-foot equivalent containers, aka TEU, ranking it among some of the world’s largest containerships topping the once-unheard of 20K TEU mark. 

She is the first of three similar ships being built for the Group by Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction at their yard in Subic, Phillipinnes. 

As of 2017, CMA CGM had over 26 giant containerships with capacities topping 12,700 TEU capacity, including the Group’s former flagship CMA CGM Bougainville, one of six ~18,000 TEU ships in the fleet.

The new flagship pays tribute to writer and poet Antoine De Saint Exupery, whose work is known across the globe.

In addition to her size, the CMA CGM Antoine De Saint Exupery is built with a number of technological advancements to improve environmental friendliness, including a Becker Twisted Fin allowing to improve the propeller’s performance, helping to significantly reduce the energy expenditure for a 4% reduction in CO2 emissions; a new-generation engine that reduces oil consumption by as much as 25%, as well as overall fuel consumption for a 3% average reduction of CO2 emissions; a system for the treatment of ballast water by filters and UV lamp. 

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