POWERED BY LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS
ITS IDENTITY
The first in a series of 9 non-standard vessels
Its name bears the name of our founder, an exceptional visionary and a born entrepreneur. He founded the CMA CGM Group and established it as a key player in the global trade landscape.
Through its size and its design, through its technological achievements, through its key contribution to protecting the environment, it represents the future of maritime transport and trade.
The CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE and the CMA CGM CHAMPS ELYSEES, which left the shipyard in the fall of 2020, will be soon be joined by 7 sisterships proudly flying the French flag.
Above all, they are the world’s first vessels of their size to be powered by Liquefied Natural Gas, an environmentally friendly energy of the future.
ITS DIMENSIONS
400 meters long, 61 meters wide, and 78 meters tall, the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE and its sisterships truly are giants of the seas.
One of these vessels can carry more than 23 000 containers at a time, and is capable of delivering 230 000 tons of everyday consumer goods.








ITS INNOVATIONS
serving the planet
The new fleet leaves no one indifferent: by what feats can such large ships be more respectful of the environment?
With their primary innovation being their revolutionary means of propulsion, they also boast a number of new and advanced technological features that make them truly innovation-packed vessels.
Let’s discover them together!



NATURAL GAS, THE ENERGY OF TOMORROW
The use of LNG for vessels of this size is a world first and a decisive step in the CMA CGM Group’s commitment to the energy transition.
Leading experts in shipbuilding have come together to make the dream come true following seven years of research and development, turning an idea into a design.
Today, LNG is the best available industrial tool to preserve air quality and tackle global warming.
OPTIMIZED NAVAL ARCHITECTURE
The engineers who designed this new series of vessels mobilized their expertise in order to optimize their hydrodynamics:
- At the front, the bulb has been completely integrated into the vessel’s profile: the bow is straight and tapered, a first for vessels of this size;
- At the back, the propeller and the rudder have been redesigned for optimized power efficiency. The propeller has been equipped with the innovative BECKER™ TWISTED FIN system, thereby enabling a significantly improved performance through optimized water flow.


100% DIGITALIZED BRIDGE
The vessels’ cockpit brings together many digital applications.
With these embedded technologies, CMA CGM drives the industry deep into the shipping 4.0 era:
- Ultra-modern augmented reality screens for active shipping briefings and a perfect vision of navigation maps;
- A system that predicts the vessels’ exact location for the following 3 minutes in order to facilitate docking maneuvers;
- A set of cameras enabling a 360° visualization, called « smart-eye », precious tool for port operations, a first for a containership.
BALLAST WATERS THAT PRESERVE MARINE BIODIVERSITY
A vessel’s ballast is a water tank intended to be filled with or drained of seawater in order to stabilize the ship.
As such, the vessel pumps water in in one port and empties it in a different port in order to balance its weight, thereby potentially diffusing foreign micro-organisms in a different marine ecosystem.
Thanks to the chemical-free UV lamp treatment system, water discharged at sea by the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE and its sisterships is free of any living organism, thereby contributing to the preservation of marine diversity.

A FUTURISTIC DESIGN
True innovation-packed masterpieces,
these vessels will be perfectly recognizable
across all seas around the globe
Their green constellation-infused livery underlines their natural gas-powered propulsion: stored in a liquid state, LNG is then transformed into a gaseous state to fuel the vessels’ engines.
The vessels proudly bear the tag “LNG POWERED”, highlighting the major worldwide innovation they represent.
ITS CONSTRUCTION
Discover the key stages of an extraordinary construction project
On November 7th , 2017, Rodolphe Saadé made the pioneering and audacious decision to power its 9 following Ultra Large Container Vessels with Liquefied Natural Gas : this is how the epic adventure of the CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE and its 8 sisterships began.
Discover in pictures the key stages of the 26 months period required to build the first ship in the series.
Project partners
The know-how and expertise of the best French, European, and global industry leaders

French classification company in charge of guaranteeing the certification of the CMA CGM JAQUES SAADE and its sister ships

Shanghai’s shipyards who developed a globally recognized know-how and expertise in container ship construction

French technology and engineering company expert in membrane containment systems, selected for the design of LNG tanks and related technical services

Company based in the United Kingdom and responsible for radio navigation and platform equipment

A technology company who provided the LNG handling system, auxiliary engines and automation system

The CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE’s primary engine designer