CMA CGM will register 10 container vessels to be delivered in the next three years under the French flag, adding more seafarers from its home country after facing calls to contribute more to France's debt-stricken economy.
CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping line, will recruit 135 French seafarers at an additional cost of 15 million to 17 million euros ($17 to $20 million) per year compared with foreign flag registrations, it said on Tuesday.
While a small investment compared with the $2 billion construction cost of the ships, which are giant 24,000-container models powered by liquefied natural gas and to be built in China, CMA CGM said its use of the French flag would help sustain the country's shipping industry.
The 10 future vessels will be named after French landmarks, with the first, the CMA CGM Notre Dame, due to be delivered in mid-2026.
"Some people have called us out for our foreign investments, notably in the United States," Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade said in an interview published in French shipping media Le Marin.
"But we have not forgotten France, far from it." CMA CGM committed in March to investing $20 billion over four years in the US, with plans including an increased use of the US flag.
The US investment pledge added to political scrutiny of CMA CGM in France in the midst of trade tensions with Washington and as some politicians seek greater contributions from large companies to help resolve a French budget crisis.
CMA CGM has criticised calls to scrap a so-called tonnage tax regime on shipping firms, generally more favourable than corporate tax, saying such a change could penalise it against its main competitors that are based in countries where the tonnage tax is also applied.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
