The vessel CMA CGM Greenland took part in the grand nautical parade around the arrival of the Olympic Flame at the port of Marseille on Wednesday 08 May. The torch for the 2024 Paris Olympics arrived amidst tight security and much fanfare onboard a historic tall ship.
The CMA CGM Greenland, a 15,000 TEU boxship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), was alongside more than 1,024 other vessels that welcomed the Belem, a French three-masted ship which was first launched in 1896.
For the occasion, the containership unveiled the Paris 2024 logo on its 15,000 containers, an operation that was carried out in Fos-sur-Mer from 05 May.
Earlier a flotilla of pleasure boats had welcomed the Belem to French shores.
Olympic champion Florent Manaudou (pictured) was given the honour of being the first Torchbearer on French soil, with local rapper Jul lighting the Olympic Torch Relay cauldron to huge applause.
From Marseille, the torch will continue on an 11-week odyssey that will see it criss-cross France and visit French overseas territories in the Caribbean as well as the Indian and Pacific oceans.
As the official logistics partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, CMA CGM and its subsidiary CEVA Logistics are handling the maritime transport of the equipment from the port of Piraeus in Greece. After its arrival in Le Havre, this equipment is stored in the Paris region before being gradually transported to Corsica, French Guiana, Reunion, Tahiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique on board 20-foot containers.
CMA CGM Greenland, equipped with WinGD engines and a GTT Mark III LNG tank in the hull, is said to embody “the commitment of the CMA CGM Group and its employees to transporting the equipment essential for the Olympic Flame’s journey through the French overseas regions and Corsica.”
The vessel, built in September 2022 under the French first register flag, and homeported in MarseilleFos, is part of a series of five 15,000 TEU vessels deployed between Asia and the Mediterranean.
Featuring a length of 366 meters and a width of 51 meters, CMA CGM Greenland and its sisterships – CMA CGM Patagonia, CMA CGM Kimberley, CMA CGM Everglade and CMA CGM Galapagos – are named after sensitive natural regions.
The Belem – the tall ship that delivered the flame to Marseille – is a French national monument. It is a historic steel-hulled, three-masted barque built in Nantes in 1896 – the same year that the Olympic Games were revived in Athens. After a successful career ferrying sugar, chocolate and rum from South America to France, Belem was bought by the Duke of Westminster and converted into a large yacht. Irish Brewer Sir Arthur Guinness bought it from the duke seven years later, and he owned it until his passing in 1949. The ship is now owned by a French foundation and was specially restored for the Olympic torch ceremony, with government support.
You may be interested in this related article from our archives about the CMA CGM Estelle.
For information about international shipping and trade – whether with Europe or any point around the globe – contact us here at Colless Young. As licensed Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders we offer correct, professional advice on all your transportation requirements. We are based in Brisbane and provide a complete range of logistics services, both airfreight and sea cargo, through all Australian ports and airports.
