CMA CGM LNG bunker consumption increases 32% in 2023

France-based shipping company CMA CGM’s total marine fuel demand shrank by 2pc in 2023, but its LNG bunker consumption was up by nearly a third as the company looked for cheaper alternative marine fuels.

CMA CGM’s vessels burned 7.92mn t of marine fuel in 2023, down from 8.10mn t in 2022. Of this amount, LNG for bunkering rose by 32pc to 539,190t very low-sulphur fuel oil-equivalent (VLSFOe) in 2023. By comparison, CMA CGM’s biofuel for bunkering demand declined by 23pc to 76,800t.

In 2023, LNG bunker prices on average were cheaper than bio-bunkers. Northwest Europe LNG was assessed at $625/t VLSFOe compared with B30 biofuel, a blend of advanced fatty acid methyl ester and VLSFO, assessed at $695/t on average in 2023, Argus prices showed. Biofuel demand also varies depending on CMA CGM’s customers’ preferences. Some of its customers, such as Nestle, choose biofuel for their freight transported by CMA CGM. The shipper passes the additional biofuel cost to Nestle in the form of higher freight rates.

The company reported its CO2 emissions from combustion (tank-to-wake) dropping by 3pc to 24.67mn t in 2023. The International Maritime Organisation is asking vessels to reduce their CO2 emissions by at least 20pc, striving for 30pc by 2030 and by at least 70pc, striving for 80pc by 2040, before reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. CMA CGM is aiming for the upper range: 30pc CO2 reduction by 2030 and 80pc drop by 2040. By 2028, CMA CGM will have 119 dual-fuel vessels, powered by methane or methanol. In 2023, CMA CGM operated 629 vessels, of which 37 were dual-fuel.