Giant Expands Presence With Regular Occurrence
The Kiel Canal, a vital waterway in Kiel, Germany, has faced a decline in traffic due to various issues such as defective locks, a shortage of pilots, and too few tugboats. Despite this, the container shipping industry is showing a growing interest in vessels optimized for the canal's dimensions, known as Kielmax vessels.
One such design is the 2,000-TEU container feeder by Kongsberg Maritime, tailored for the Kielmax profile. This digitally advanced vessel is designed for feeder routes, featuring reduced operational costs and environmental compliance. Key features include no heavy cargo hatches, forward deckhouse protection against green water, cell guides for efficient container loading/unloading, and faster port turnaround enabling lower speeds at sea and reduced fuel consumption.
While companies like CMA CGM and Maersk Line are not explicitly mentioned in these results as currently ordering Kielmax vessels, the industry interest reflected in Kongsberg’s design indicates a trend toward feeder ships that can navigate restricted waterways like the Kiel Canal.
CMA CGM, a container shipping company from Marseille, has already had ships built that are optimized for the dimensions of the Kiel Canal. One of these ships is the "CMA CGM Mermaid," which was built in South Korea at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The "CMA CGM Mermaid" requires only one tugboat to enter the Kiel Canal locks and is expected to use the canal every two weeks on its journey from Hamburg to the Baltic Sea.
The "CMA CGM Mermaid" was not fully loaded in Hamburg during its recent passage, allowing it to fit through the canal. This vessel, one of six new container giants set to shuttle in Northern Europe from 2025, has a length of 205 meters and a width of 30 meters, approaching the permitted maximum dimensions for a canal passage.
CMA CGM has ordered ten of these freighters, each costing 62 million dollars. The acquisition of these ships enables the use of green fuels such as bio-LNG and green methanol. The successful passage of the "CMA CGM Mermaid" indicates that major shipping companies still consider the Kiel Canal relevant, despite past issues.
The key benefits of Kielmax container ships include the ability to transit the canal, reducing voyages around Denmark or over longer routes, faster port calls and feeder operation efficiencies, reduced fuel usage due to optimized speeds and hull designs, and compatibility with future environmental and digital operational requirements.
As these Kielmax vessels become more common, they promise economic and environmental efficiencies for major shipping companies like CMA CGM and Maersk, each operating over 600 ships worldwide. The next scheduled canal passage for the "CMA CGM Mermaid" is on April 29.
- Despite the challenges faced by the Kiel Canal, the container shipping industry, such as CMA CGM, is showing a growing interest in vessels optimized for the canal's dimensions, like the Kielmax vessels, due to their potential for reduced operational costs, environmental compliance, and economic efficiency.
- Companies like CMA CGM and Maersk, with their vast global shipping fleets, are recognizing the relevance of the Kiel Canal, as shown by their investments in Kielmax vessels, such as the CMA CGM Mermaid, which allows for transit through the canal, reducing longer routes and promoting economic and environmental efficiency.
