CMA CGM: Giant Of The Seas Christened

Press Release May 25, 2011

The CMA CGM Group, the world’s third largest container shipping company and first in France, is pleased to announce that the CMA CGM TITAN, an 11,400 teu* vessel, was christened at the Dunkirk Terminal in the presence of her godmother, Mrs Laurence Parisot, President of the French employers federation, MEDEF.

CMA CGM TITAN’s christening at Dunkirk Port, one of ten ports serviced by CMA CGM on Europe’s Atlantic front, confirms the Group’s determination to see France and its port terminals regain their position in the international shipping arena. Over the last few years the CMA CGM Group has invested in several French terminals, including the Terminal des Flandres at Dunkirk. Its strategic location near the big north European ports, its three berths on the 1.4 km quay, six gantry cranes and the significant 17.3 m draft capacity mean the terminal offers CMA CGM customers an efficient and reliable service. With five regular services from the West Indies, Asia, Panama and Morocco, the Group generates more than 70% of the volumes handled by the terminal, making Dunkirk France’s third most important port in terms of container volumes.

The eighth containership in a series of 12 named after constellations (ANDROMEDA, CASSIOPEIA, etc), the CMA CGM TITAN boasts impressive technical features combining environmental technology with high performance. Like other vessels in the Group’s fleet, in the same and larger categories, the CMA CGM TITAN is equipped with the Fast Oil Recovery system, an electronically controlled engine and a twisted leading edge rudder. A host of innovations means the CMA CGM Group can offer customers an even more efficient and competitive service, while taking into account sustainable development issues, in line with its commitments and values.

Laurence Parisot, President of MEDEF, said: “It is a great pleasure for me to be godmother to the CMA CGM TITAN. I wish her every success; that this magnificent vessel will be the pride of CMA CGM and her crew and contribute to France’s reputation and that of its companies and expertise across all the world’s oceans.”

The CMA CGM TITAN is deployed on the Group’s flagship lines linking Asia to Europe, the historic “French Asia Line” and calls at strategic ports in Asia and on the European Atlantic side. These giants of the seas have become indispensable on this trade and enable the CMA CGM Group to cope with the growth in Asian exports and the resulting demand for transportation.