CMA CGM has signed contracts for six LNG dual-fuel feeders with Cochin Shipyard, enhancing ties with India and supporting local shipbuilding ambitions.
French shipping giant CMA CGM has signed firm contracts with India's Cochin Shipyard for six 1,700 TEU LNG dual-fuel feeder containerships, formalising a letter of intent agreed last October, reports London's Lloyd's List.
The deal was signed by CMA CGM chairman and chief executive Rodolphe Saade during a high-level event in New Delhi. He stated that the agreement strengthens both the partnership with Cochin Shipyard and the long-standing strategic ties between CMA CGM and India.
All six vessels will sail under the Indian flag. The order is seen as a major step in India's ambition to join the world's top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030. For Cochin Shipyard, the country's largest merchant shipbuilder, it is only the second boxship order but its most prominent to date.
Cochin's first containership order came in 2023 from Dutch carrier Samskip for two 500-TEU hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessels, the first boxships designed to run on green hydrogen. To support the CMA CGM project, Cochin has partnered with South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for detailed design.
The order expands CMA CGM's footprint in India, where the Marseille-based carrier has recruited 1,000 Indian seafarers and plans to raise that number to 1,500 by the end of 2026. The group is also exploring container manufacturing, sustainable ship recycling, and domestic shipping partnerships.
Last year, CMA CGM transferred three containerships to the Indian registry. While Indian shipbuilding costs remain higher than in China and South Korea, subsidies under India's Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy, especially for alternative-fuel vessels, are helping to narrow the gap.
CMA CGM is also considering newbuilding orders in US shipyards, an initiative first floated in March 2025. The group already maintains a significant US-flag presence through APL and has pledged to expand its US-flag fleet sharply over the next four years.
