The Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement – Compagnie Générale Maritime (CMA-CGM) was represented by its regional director, Liliane Hohl, at the Entrepreneur's Breakfast organized by Medef Saint-Martin at the beginning of October. Concerns of entrepreneurs, dependence on sea freight, technical details, the exchanges were rich.
CMA-CGM is a French container ship owner whose world headquarters is located in Marseille. Its global transport offer integrates maritime transport, port handling and land logistics. The territory of Saint-Martin is particularly dependent on maritime freight for mainland food. Fabrice Passera, director of Cadisco and vice-president of FipCom, pointed out the company's monopoly with an increase in the costs of a 40-foot container of €700. Since 2015, this amount has been offset by the cost of living bonus of €750, but this risks disappearing by the end of 2023. Liliane Hohl was keen to recall the efforts of the company, often blamed at each inflation peak, including the freezing maritime tariffs since 2021 and CMA-CGM's obligations to meet the standards relating to the new law of the Council of the European Union concerning the decarbonization of the maritime sector. Indeed, from January 1, 2024, ships emitting greenhouse gases above the standard set in European waters will be subject to sanctions and additional charges which will have an impact on the cost of transport. The CMA-CGM anticipated this climate legislation by launching, 5 years ago, the production of ships running on liquefied natural gas and meeting European specifications. Today, 500 of its own vessels are already in operation and solutions are being considered to reduce polluting gas emissions with, for example, the addition of biomethanol.
Initiative welcomed by the government. Since this green change, the company has reduced its CO2 emissions by 50%. The objective is to reduce by another 20% by 2030, by 40% in 2024 and to achieve zero carbon by 2050. The new CMA-CGM ships delivered in 2025 will also be larger with a capacity of 7700 20-foot containers, compared to 2200 currently on call in Sint Maarten and 3900 on the Le Havre/Pointe-à-Pitre line. Small shadow on the picture full of consequences for fresh products, with this new fleet, the shipping company plans to add a stopover in Pointe-à-Pitre on the Le Havre/Sint Maarten line (currently 9 days), which will cause two additional days of rotation. Liliane Hohl, however, reassured the entrepreneurs of the presence of a bouncer in place to bring the cargo back to SXM. _VX
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