Kuala Lumpur, 9th December 2020
Westports Holdings Berhad’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd (“Westports”), accommodated the maiden call of the world’s largest LNG-powered containership, CMA CGM Jacques Saadé, on her way to China. With her length overall (LOA) of 400 meters and a carrying capacity of 23,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers, CMA CGM Jacques Saadé is also the container vessel with the highest nominal capacity that has ever called at Westports.
His Excellency Mr Roland Galharague and Mr Emmanuel Ly-Batallan, the Ambassador and the Economic Counsellor & Head of the Economic Department of the Embassy of France in Malaysia; Datuk Chong Sin Woon and Capt. K. Subramaniam, the Chairman and General Manager of the Port Klang Authority; Mr Ravindra Sahu, Mr Gaspard Vandamme and Mr Sanjeeva Jayewardene, the Managing Director, Director and General Manager of CMA CGM Malaysia Sdn Bhd respectively; and Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam and Mr Eddie Lee Mun Tat, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Westports, graced the occasion whereby Westports presented a plaque to the vessel’s captain and also 100 trees to CMA CGM, which have been planted in collaboration with EcoMatcher. Westports also presented a tree each to the delegates representing the Embassy of France in Malaysia, Port Klang Authority and CMA CGM Malaysia Sdn Bhd, expressing its commitment towards sustainability.
On her maiden call, CMA CGM Jacques Saadé berthed at Container Terminal 7. She will be calling Westports regularly under the Ocean Alliance eastbound service FAL1, which starts sailing from Le Havre and ends at Tianjin Xingang.
CMA CGM Jacques Saadé demonstrates the CMA CGM Group’s commitment towards energy transition in the shipping industry and its investment towards reducing its carbon footprint and improving air quality, particularly for surrounding population centres that the vessel visits, by limiting polluting emissions. The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), which measures the environmental footprint of a vessel, shows that CMA CGM Jacques Saadé yields a 20% improvement when compared with a conventional ship.
Datuk Ruben shared that “Westports made a long-term commitment a few years back to reduce our carbon emission intensity as we focus on using more energy-efficient equipment. We also recognise the impact of climate change and to reciprocate our client’s commitment towards reducing its carbon footprint; we have 100 trees planted for CMA CGM through EcoMatcher. The trees planted will increase carbon sequestration capacity as we all do our part to mitigate the impact of climate change”.
