INTERNATIONAL BROKERS are reporting CMA CGM has purchased the five ‘Colour’ class reefer container ships it deploys on charter in the PAD/NASP service operated with Marfret ANZ-ECNA-Europe-South Pacific.
The 2256 TEU, 19 knot, geared vessels were built by Zhoushan’s Yangfan Shipyard and delivered between 2016 and 2019 to China’s ICBC Leasing for long-term lease to reefer ship specialist Seatrade, of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Originally six of the vessels were destined for Seatrade’s first venture into pure container ships, the north-south Merdian service which launched on 9 January 2017 on a Rotterdam-Dunkirk-Radicatel-Papeete-Noumea-Nelson-Napier-Tauranga-Callao-Paita-Philadelphia-Zeebrugge-Tilbury-Rotterdam rotation. Initially four, each with 674 reefer plugswere committed, Seatrade Orange, Seatrade Red, Seatrade White and Seatrade Blue, supplemented by chartered tonnage. Two more with an increased reefer capacity of 776 were on order.
But a full container service proved a step too far for Seatrade at that time and by July that year Meridian had been backed into vessel sharing agreement with CMA CGM/Marfret’s PAD/NASP service on a similar route, and by December 2017 financial pressures forced Seatrade to withdraw altogether, chartering the ‘Colours’ to CMA CGM, along with hundreds of brand new reefer containers.
The fifth of the class, Seatrade Green, was eventually delivered in 2019 while the sixth, designated Seatrade Gold, was never completed/delivered to Seatrade and its fate is unclear.
Brokers say the five ships have now been bought by CMA CGM en bloc for around USD 150 million.
