French shippers add Chinese-built vessels to fleet
French shipping company the CMA CGM Group is to host a visit from the Chinese prime minister to rubber stamp a purchase agreement for three new vessels which will be the largest in the company's portfolio.
CMA CGM is naming one of its new vessels after 15th century Chinese admiral Zheng He. Photo: Jinling Library
Li Keqiang will visit the Marseilles headquarters today (July 1) as part of a Chinese delegation to conclude a major agreement between CMA CGM and the Chinese shipyards that manufacture the vessels.
Later this year, three 18,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) will be delivered to the CMA CGM Group, named after great explorers, with one being christened 'CMA CGM Zheng He' in recognition of the Chinese fleet admiral.
Several French ministers will also be attending the event which founder and chairman of CMA CGM Group, Jacques R. Saade, describes as a 'milestone in our Group's history'.
"The Chinese Prime Minister's visit is a great recognition of the unique links our Group has developed with China, a strategic country in the Group’s development history," he says in a release.
"We are proud of the honor and of the confidence that this visit demonstrates."
Subscribe to our newsletter
