Hamburg-based boxship operator Containerships, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, has taken delivery of its second container vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Containerships Polar.Here's Containerships page on the ship:
As the second LNG-powered ship for Containerships and CMA CGM, the newbuild will be phased into the redesigned BALT 2 service in the Port of Rotterdam on June 23, 2019. The service links Northern Europe with the Baltic states and Russia.
At the beginning of May, the 1,380-TEU vessel started its voyage from Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard in China to Northern Europe where it will operate alongside its sister ship Containerships Nord....MORE
20th-June-2019
INTRODUCING CONTAINERSHIPS POLAR
Containerships introduces its second LNG-powered ship CONTAINERSHIPS POLAR and optimizes its Baltic serviceThough both World Maritime New and the press release mention the "high ice rating" that's high for the Baltic, not for the Arctic. The new ship is rated at the second highest level (1A) under the Finnish-Swedish ice class rules:
Containerships, an expert in Intra-Europe and a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, is pleased to announce it took delivery of its second container ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the CONTAINERSHIPS POLAR.
- A pioneer in the use of LNG, the CMA CGM Group will operate 20 LNG-powered vessels by 2022
- BALT 2 – a redesigned service for Continental Europe, the Baltics and Russia, covering major ports with highly competitive transit times
- A fully eco-friendly multimodal supply chain for customers
A new LNG ship joins the fleet: CONTAINERSHIPS POLAR
As the second LNG-powered ship for Containerships and the CMA CGM Group, the CONTAINERSHIPS POLAR will be phased into the redesigned BALT 2 service in the Port of Rotterdam on June 23rd, 2019. At the beginning of May, the 1,380-TEU vessel started its voyage from Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard in China to Northern Europe where it will operate alongside its sister ship CONTAINERSHIPS NORD.
With its dimensions and its high ice class, the CONTAINERSHIPS POLAR is suited for the navigational and climatic challenges of its operational area in Northern Europe and the Baltics. Moreover, the ship provides best-in-class container intake: with an exceptional high intake of 40ft and 45ft pallet-wide high cube containers, Containerships is underlining its customer-oriented approach....MORE
...Ships must fulfill certain design requirements in order to obtain the ice class from the Finnish and Swedish authorities. The design requirement for ice class 1A Super is a minimum speed of 5 knots in a broken brash ice channel with a thickness of 1.0 metre (3.3 ft) in the middle and a consolidated (refrozen) ice layer of 0.1 metres (3.9 in). Ice classes 1A, 1B and 1C have lower design requirements corresponding to non-consolidated ice channels with a thickness of 1.0, 0.8 and 0.6 metres (3.3, 2.6 and 2.0 ft) in the middle, respectively....The 1A level corresponds with the ARC4 level which the Russians will only allow along the Northern Sea Route during the summer, and a far cry from the icebreaking LNG carriers we've looked at. The Yamal LNG project uses ARC7 rated vessels which the Russians allow to travel unescorted in ice up to 2.0 meters thick.
—Wikipedia
Still though the strengthening to 1A is a good thing.
This is the Brazilian research yacht Mar Sem Fim in Antarctica's Maxwell Bay:
It got caught in the ice and crushed by the pressure in 2012.
Previously:
Shipping: CMA CGM Took Delivery Of Its First LNG Powered Vessel
CMA CGM to Have 20 LNG-Powered Containerships by 2022
The French shipping major is also going in the other direction, sizewise, with nine behemoths planned:
Shipping: "Why CMA CGM ordered 'game changing' 22,000 TEU LNG-powered containerships"
