A bit tardy getting to this but I wanted it on the blog as it is quite a remarkable accomplishment.
From The Maritime Executive, April 9:
For the second time in six months, French shipping giant CMA CGM Group is claiming a record for the largest number of full containers loaded aboard a single vessel. The achievement comes as the industry prepares to build even larger boxships to realize the economies of scale and meet the increasing demand for capacity.
The ultra-larger containership CMA CGM Jacques Saade (236,538 dwt) departed the port of Singapore on April 8 carrying 21,433 fully-loaded TEU for the new world’s record. The calculation for the load exceeded by more than three percent the ship’s prior record set in October 2020 during its maiden voyage. The 1,312-foot vessel had departed Singapore on October 12 with a calculation of 20,723 full TEU, which at the time was noted to be about 10 percent below her nominal capacity.
The CMA CGM Jacques Saade’s capacity is listed at 23,112 TEU, with the TEU being a standardized measure in the industry. Most boxes used by shippers are two TEU in size and as such the value does not reflect the number of individual containers on board. The current figure likely means the ship is loaded to capacity with full boxes. According to CMA CGM, among the current cargo are electronics, machinery, and household goods manufactured in Asia and being delivered to Europe.
The effort to complete the loading of the vessel to this level is equally significant. In October, CMA CGM reported that over 4,000 movements by nine different cranes working in unison were required during the stopover in Singapore....
....MUCH MORE
Jacques Saade was the founder of CMA CGM and the ship named in his honor is now the flagship of the company's fleet. The ship is the first of nine CMA CGM super-ultra-mega-container-ships powered by LNG.
He was quite a far-sighted guy.
