Wartsila to supply tech for 12 LNG-fuelled containerships

Finnish group Wartsila announced on January 4 it had been hired to supply solutions for 12 LNG-fuelled containerships due to be built in China for CMA CGM.

Six 13,000-teu containerships will be constructed at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding while another six 15,000-teu vessels will be built at the Jiangnan Shipyard. The orders were placed in the third and fourth quarters of 2021.

Wartsila will start supplying its equipment in 2022, with the first of the 12 vessels due to be launched in Q3 2023. The Finnish company was previously picked to provide equipment for nine 23,000-teu and five 15,000-teu CMA CGM vessels.

Using LNG rather than conventional diesel fuels will help decarbonise marine transport, Wartsila said, noting that LNG use reduced the emission of sulphur oxides by 99%, nitrogen oxide by 92% and particulates by 91%. The ship's engines are also compatible with renewable fuels such as bio-methane, synthetic methane and e-methane.

"At CMA CGM we are committed to promoting sustainability in all our operations," Xavier Leclercq, vice president of CMA Ships, commented. "We are happy to work with Wartsila as they have a similar decarbonisation target and a very broad scope of solutions to offer. The choice of dual fuel gas vessels powered by LNG for our new ships is part of our commitment to build a zero-carbon future."

“This large repeat order for a broad scope of Wartsila solutions from a valued customer marks the value of quality, reliability and sharp customer focus," Wartsila CEO Hakan Agnevall added. "It also highlights our wide range of competences across marine technologies. Both CMA CGM and Wartsila have a common strategy in applying LNG solutions to prepare the way towards carbon free shipping."

There are been a significant growth in orders for LNG-fuelled ships since the International Maritime Organisation introduced stricter rules on marine pollution in 2020. Shipping services group Clarkson estimated in September 2021 that almost 30% of new ships being ordered that year were designed to run on the fuel.