French container shipping company has pulled the 18,000 TEU CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin from the trans-pacific market, officially ending - or at least postponing - U.S. west coast ports' plans to host so-called mega-ships. Beginning later this month, the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin will be redeployed on CMA CGM's FAL 1 service connecting Asia with northern Europe, according to … [Read more...]
CMA CGM Moves Mega-Ships to Transpacific Trade as Asia-Europe Rates Keep Tumbling
By Mike Wackett, (The Loadstar) - CMA CGM has confirmed that from the end of May it will redeploy its flagship fleet of 18,000 teu ships on the “most active and dynamic market to date: the transpacific”. It will source the ships from the sickly Asia-North Europe tradelane. Following recent successful trials at the Californian ports of Long Beach and Oakland by the … [Read more...]
CMA CGM to Deploy Six Megaships to U.S. West Coast
French container shipping company CMA CGM has confirmed that starting in the end of May it will deploy six 18,000 TEU 'megaships' between Asia and U.S. west coast ports. The ships will be the largest to call regularly in North America. The company says the decision to deploy its 'flagship fleet' is in line with the company's growth strategy in the United States and around … [Read more...]
Big Ben – Photo Tour Of The MegaShip Benjamin Franklin
The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, the largest container ship ever to dock in North America, returned to Southern California last month for its second U.S. visit and official inauguration. Before departing for Seattle, CMA CGM invited gCaptain founder John Konrad and photographer Andrew Lombardi to Long Beach for a tour of the enormous vessel. Here are the photos from the … [Read more...]
SPOTD: Record-Breaking CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin Arrives in Seattle
The largest containership to ever dock in the United States made its inaugural visit to the port of Seattle on Monday, arriving at the Northwest Seaport Alliance’s Terminal 18. The 18,000 tue, 399 meter long CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin's visit to Seattle is the last in a series of 4 trial-calls meant to test U.S. west coast port's ability to accommodate … [Read more...]