CMA CGM’s 8,200-TEU ship makes first call at Long Beach

CMA CGMÆs 8,200-TEU ship makes first call at Long Beach    The CMA CGM containership 'Hugo,' with a capacity of 8,200 TEUs, has made its maiden call at the port of Long Beach, Calif.
   The vessel is 1,095.8 feet long, 140.4 feet wide, and has a draft of 47.6 feet. It is the first of 17 sister ships that CMA CGM has ordered from Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.
   CMA CGM will deploy five of the mega-vessels between South China and the U.S. West Coast as part of a transpacific service called 'Pearl River Express.' The port rotation will include Xiamen, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Yantian, Long Beach and Oakland, Calif.
   'I can see why some people call this a floating shopping mall,' said John C. Calhoun, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. The 'Hugo' is able to carry enough cargo to fill a one million-square-foot shopping center with products stacked eight feet high.
   CMA CGM, based in Marseilles, France, began calling at Long Beach in June.