UK Edition
CMA CGM’s Kerguelen is the latest in a new generation of giant container ships plying the oceans and is capable of carrying almost 18,000 shipping containers, making it one of the very largest ships in the world.
Named after the explorer Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec, $120m (£80m) the ship is the first of six in her class and measures 1,305 feet from stem to stern, is 177 feet wide and has a draught of more than 52 feet.
Despite weighing in at 175,000 tonnes, Kerguelen has just a single engine powering her, a slow revving MAN diesel which puts out 90,000 horsepower and can power her at 21 knots.
Despite her size the ship needs a crew of just 26 to sail her.
Although owned by French shipping line CMA CGM, Kerguelen is British-flagged – a “feather in the cap for Britain’s seafaring reputation” according to Michael Parker, the company’s UK chairman.
“We started trials with smaller ships and found the service we got from the Maritime and Coastguard agency was very good,” he said. “In this business when you need answers, you really need answers and you can’t wait.
“We wanted a quality operation and the British flag has for many years been one of the top few flags in the world.
“Having our largest vessel British flagged really does make a point,” Mr Parker added. “If I were running the Red Ensign I would take it as a sign that I was doing something right because there are many more flags available.”
Recent data from the Department of Transport showed that the number of British-flagged shipping lying the global sealanes has fallen by more than a third over the past five years.
In 2014 there were just 453 UK-registered trading vessels of 100 gross tons and over flying the Red Ensign, down from 712 in 2009.
The situation seen in the UK is the reverse of the global trend, with growing international trade meaning that the total number of ships in the world rose by 5pc to 56,759 over the same period.
Currently 37 of CMA CGM’s more than 400 vessels fly the Red Ensign. Mr Parker said that he hoped the majority of Kerguelen’s sister ships would also be British flagged.
CMA CGM’s confidence in registering its ships in Britain could see the UK boasting the largest ship in the world on its books: the company has just ordered a new class of vessels capable of carrying 20,000 standard shipping containers.
The MSC Oscar currently holds the title of the world’s largest container ship and is capable of carrying 19,244 containers. She took the title from the CSCL Globe, which could accommodate 19,100, and held the world’s largest title for just a few months.
The prestige of having such a massive vessel on the British shipping register could help deliver an economic boost to the UK, Mr Parker added.
“Shipping is a growing industry and Britain boosting the part it plays could only help,” he said. “There is a worldwide shortage of seafarers and raising awareness about the industry would help attract people into it and the careers it offers.
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