The CMA CGM Group has announced that the CMA CGM FORT DE FRANCE, the first vessel belonging to its new fleet dedicated to the French West Indies, was christened last week in Martinique by Mrs Annick Girardin, French Minister for Overseas Territories.
The inauguration took place in the presence of Mr Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, Ms Tanya Saadé Zeenny, Executive Officer, and other key dignitaries.
The CMA CGM FORT DE FRANCE is a 3,504-TEU vessel that was delivered on January 10, 2019. It is 219 m long and 35.6 m wide. This is the first of a series of four containerships named after French West Indian forts and flying the French flag. It will be followed in the coming months by the CMA CGM FORT ROYAL, the CMA CGM FORT SAINT CHARLES and the CMA CGM FORT FLEUR D’EPEE.
In the French West Indies, the Group operates 7 maritime services connecting these islands to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. In Guadeloupe and Martinique, CMA CGM employs 220 employees and 325 dockworkers.
By modernising its fleet dedicated to the French West Indies, CMA CGM is significantly increasing its service to these territories while maintaining its quality, reliability and regularity, it emphasised in a release.
Commented Mr Rodolphe Saadé: “The CMA CGM Group is very attached to the French West Indies, with which we maintain a unique and historical bond. The CMA CGM FORT DE FRANCE, the first of a series of four new vessels dedicated to these territories, is the illustration of this commitment which we wish to further strengthen.”
