CMA CGM adds 24,212 TEU ship to Asia Europe FAL capacity

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CMA CGM is bringing its newest ultra large container vessel into the North Europe port rotation as the CMA CGM NOTRE DAME makes its maiden French Asia Line voyage from Asia to Europe, ahead of an official naming ceremony in Le Havre on July 2.

The 24,212 TEU ship is the first in a series of ten LNG powered container vessels that will sail under the French flag. The series is scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2028 and forms part of the carrier’s wider fleet renewal on one of the world’s most important east west trades.

For ports, terminals and shippers, the arrival is more than a ceremonial call. A vessel of this size concentrates a very large amount of cargo into each port window. That can improve slot efficiency at sea, but it also raises the familiar question on land: can the quay, yard, gate and inland network absorb the surge smoothly?

The CMA CGM NOTRE DAME measures about 400 metres in length, 62 metres in width and 75 metres in height. With a nominal capacity of 24,212 TEU, it becomes the largest container ship operating under the French flag and one of the largest container vessels in global liner service.

The ship is registered in the French International Register. CMA CGM has said all ten vessels in the series will be placed under the French flag, with about 135 French seafarers to be recruited for the programme.

The vessel is sailing with a crew of around 30 seafarers under Captain Nicolas Le Scornet. On board, the design includes modern accommodation, permanent connectivity and facilities intended for long haul rotations, where crews spend weeks moving through high pressure port calls and long ocean passages.

The vessel is fitted with dual fuel propulsion using liquefied natural gas as its main fuel. Its LNG tank has a capacity of 18,600 cubic metres, which CMA CGM says gives the ship full autonomy on Asia Europe rotations.

The design also includes an aerodynamic windshield at the bow, optimized hull and deck architecture, and energy management systems for refrigerated cargo. The ship has 1,600 reefer plugs, an important feature for time sensitive cargo moving between Asia and Europe.

The carrier says the vessel’s architecture allows around 280 additional TEU without increasing external dimensions. For terminals, that means more cargo can arrive within the same physical ship footprint. The ship is the same box, so to speak, but packed more tightly.

The bridge is fully digitalized and equipped with augmented reality navigation tools, 360 degree visualization and trajectory prediction systems. These technologies are aimed at improving situational awareness during approaches, port entry and manoeuvring.

AI assisted systems also support route optimization, speed control and real time energy consumption management. CMA CGM Fleet Centers in Marseille, Miami and Singapore monitor the ship and support the crew during operations.

For a 400 metre ship calling major hubs such as Le Havre, Rotterdam and Hamburg, small changes in arrival timing, berth planning or speed management can have direct effects on fuel use, berth productivity and downstream schedule reliability.

The CMA CGM NOTRE DAME is deployed on the French Asia Line, CMA CGM’s flagship Asia Europe service. The rotation includes major export and transhipment points such as Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian and Singapore, followed by North Europe calls including Le Havre, Rotterdam and Hamburg, before Tangier Med.

The full rotation is understood to take around 102 days. That long cycle makes schedule recovery difficult when disruption occurs. If a ship misses a berth window in Asia or Europe, the effect can travel through the rotation like a delay on a rail network.

At 24,212 TEU, the ship can help CMA CGM lift more cargo per voyage on the Asia Europe corridor. The operational trade off is that each call places more demand on cranes, yard planning, rail links, barge capacity and truck gates.

The formal naming ceremony in Le Havre is scheduled for July 2 during the vessel’s maiden France call. The event is being presented as a public maritime inauguration and as a showcase for French maritime capability.

The vessel is expected to be visible from several points along the Le Havre coastline during the call, drawing public attention to a ship that is both a national flag story and a major logistics asset.

For Port 2000, the call highlights Le Havre’s role in CMA CGM’s Asia Europe network. The port remains one of the key North Europe gateways for French importers, exporters and inland distribution chains.

Before heading to France, the CMA CGM NOTRE DAME made its maiden call at Singapore in early June after departing Shanghai on its first commercial voyage.

CMA CGM has positioned Singapore as a strategic hub for deploying its next generation dual fuel fleet and for working with local partners on decarbonization, alternative fuels and digital maritime systems.

The call also reflects Singapore’s continuing role as a control point for Asia Europe liner flows. For a ship of this size, the port is not simply a stop on the map. It is a place where fuel strategy, cargo planning, network timing and regional transhipment all meet in one operation.