The CMA CGM Notre-Dame, a giant French container ship, has been launched in Le Havre
The ship, which is 400 metres long and one of the largest in the world, will operate on routes between Asia and Europe
The CMA CGM Notre-Dame, the largest French-flagged container ship and one of the largest in the world, has been launched in Le Havre.
It was christened by Delphine Arnault, managing director of Dior Couture. Measuring 400 metres in length and taller than the spires of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, from which it takes its name, it will operate on the main trade routes between Asia and Europe.
It is powered by liquefied natural gas and is the flagship of a new generation of ten giant cargo ships in the French fleet. In a single voyage, this colossus of the seas is capable of carrying 24,000 standard containers.
For its maiden voyage, despite tensions in the Middle East, the Notre-Dame arrived in Europe via the Suez Canal from the large shipyard Yangzijiang Shipbuilding near Shanghai, in China.
Avoiding the rounding of Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, as many ships have been doing since the start of the war in Iran, was escorted into the Red Sea by a French Navy frigate as part of the European Aspides programme for maritime traffic safety.
