St. Maarten celebrates CMA CGM containership

St. Maarten celebrates CMA CGM containership The St. Maarten Port Authority held a lively celebration with fireworks, confetti and dancers to mark the official inaugural call of the CMA CGM containership Herodote, the largest containership calling the port.

Theodore Heyliger, St. Maarten Commissioner of Tourism, stands at the podium during a ceremony marking the inaugural call of CMA CGM's Herodote at St. Maarten. The 1,700-TEU containership is the largest cargo ship to call the port. (Photo by Alita Singh)

   The 1,700-TEU vessel, which was just added to the French carrier's fleet at the end of March, has been deployed in CMA CGM's Europe/Guyana/North Brazil trade. The vessel has 240 reefer plugs, three times the capacity of vessels already used for that service. It had made an earlier call at St. Maarten, but the officials ceremonies were scheduled for a subsequent voyage.
   The Herodote is the first company-owned vessel used in the trade, and is the first of six vessels that will eventually be dedicated to that market.
   'CMA CGM was willing to invest in modern vessels which would be dedicated to this trade where the group has a historical presence,' said Nicole Chamard, CMA CGM director of Mediterranean/Caribbean and Europe/Guyana, North Brazil lines, when the vessel was initially launched. 'These new vessels are larger, faster and they have been specially designed to cope with the nautical constraints of the area. Our customers will therefore benefit from an improved quality of service, with faster transit time, and better opportunities to expand their business in the coming years.'
   The new vessel offers weekly service with a port rotation of Cadiz, Leixoes, Rotterdam, Tilbury, Rouen, Le Havre, Saint Maarten, Port of Spain, Degrad des Cannes, Belem, Fortaleza, Natal and back to Cadiz.