The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air, and logistics solutions, has signed a letter of intent for six state-of-the-art LNG-powered containerships to be built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), India. This strategic move makes the Group the first major foreign carrier to commission LNG vessels from an Indian shipyard. All six vessels will be registered under the Indian flag.
The newbuilds, each with a capacity of 1,700 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), demonstrate CMA CGM’s commitment to a more sustainable shipping as they can run on LNG and are ready for low-carbon fuels, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with the Group’s ambition to be Net Zero Carbon by 2050. The project at Cochin Shipyard will also be run with the technical cooperation of Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
This initiative underscores CMA CGM’s strong commitment to India’s maritime vision and strategic national priorities, including Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Group is actively investing across the Indian maritime value chain, spanning strategic terminals, maritime services, and shipbuilding, while also reflagging vessels under the Indian registry. At the same time, it is enhancing local maritime employment through expanded crewing and manning operations in India. CMA CGM will reflag four vessels under the Indian registry in 2025 and aims to recruit 1,000 Indian seafarers by the end of the year. In 2026, CMA CGM plans to hire an additional 500 Indian seafarers.
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, stated: “I am pleased that CMA CGM is the first international shipping company to order LNG vessels built in India. This milestone reflects the trust we place in India’s industrial and technological capabilities and supports Prime Minister Modi’s ambition to make India a global shipbuilding power. India is a strategic country for CMA CGM, where we invest, train, and innovate. Beyond shipbuilding, we are strengthening our partnerships in logistics, maritime training, and sustainable transport to support India’s growth and contribute to the decarbonization of global trade.”
The partnership between CMA CGM and Cochin Shipyard underscores a mutual dedication to innovation, sustainability, and global maritime excellence. Vessels will be delivered from 2029 to 2031, in line with the Group’s fleet renewal and energy transition strategy.
Madhu S Nair, CMD of Cochin Shipyard, stated: “We are pleased that CMA CGM has chosen CSL to be part of this land mark initiative. CSL is committed to deliver high quality vessels with sustainable solutions to meet the market expectation of the future shipping. This project is also of great significance to CSL as we are collaborating with the largest shipbuilding group HD KSOE as the major partner, which further reinforces our commitment to bring the best-in-class solutions through partnerships, to serve clients across the globe.
India represents a strategic market for the CMA CGM Group, holding a pivotal position within the Group’s global agency network. With a 34-year presence in the country and a workforce of approximately 17,000 employees, CMA CGM plays an essential role in connecting India to global markets through 19 weekly maritime services.
Beyond its core shipping operations, the Group is actively investing in India’s port infrastructure, with significant strategic stakes in terminals at Nhava Sheva Freeport Terminal (NSFT), near Mumbai, and Mundra Port.
The CMA CGM Group also established in India, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, the headquarter of its Global Business Services (GBS) organization, operating as a strategic hub supporting a wide array of functions across shipping, logistics, finance, legal, customer care, and transformation. With a dedicated workforce of over 9,000 employees, GBS supports 160 agencies across the globe, overseeing 261 processes and 158 departments, delivering over 60% of the Group’s main transactional business processes.
CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM’s logistics subsidiary, operates across 105 sites in 31 Indian cities, managing around 900,000 square meters of warehouse space. The acquisition of Stellar VCS in 2023 further strengthened CEVA Logistics’ role in India’s contract logistics sector, offering global expertise and innovative solutions to enhance operational efficiency.
Cochin Shipyard as the leading shipbuilder in India is pioneering the efforts of the Government of India’s vision to develop the country into a global maritime hub under the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 and this project is a perfect example to demonstrate such initiatives.
