CMA CGM Adopts Container Firefighting System

French shipping company CMA CGM has tapped VIKING Life-Saving Equipment to supply the HydroPen drilling and spraying solution for container firefighting duties on board 85 of its vessels.

Where conventional firefighting solutions dowse containers on the outside, the HydroPen is attached to a standard hose as a combined drill and spray unit that penetrates the container door before extinguishing the fire with water, foam or CO2. Useable on or below deck, a crew member can operate the HydroPen via a telescopic device to fight fires high in the stack with a minimum of training.

VIKING said CMA CGM was quick to identify the potential of the system immediately after its launch at SMM in 2018. Initial trials were held by CMA Ships in Marseille. A second trial took place on the container ship CMA CGM T Roosevelt, with VIKING personnel boarding in Los Angeles to provide hands-on testing and training.

HydroPen units have already been delivered to the 85 vessels despite COVID-19 challenges. Xavier Leclercq, vice president, CMA Ships added: “Our policies and objectives are to continuously improve our safety performance proactively by setting up new standards and solutions. Whatever the circumstances, the priority for the CMA CGM Group is the safety of our crews and the goods transported for our clients.”

Dorte Moeskjaer Hansen, VIKING vice president sales regions, has been involved in account management for CMA CGM for 25 years. She commented, “When it comes to an expression of confidence in HydroPen, an order of this scale from a carrier of CMA CGM’s stature speaks for itself. For the safety of crew, cargo and the ship itself, container fires are best dealt with on board as quickly as possible, using a system whose true value comes from its being so easy to use.”