Report: France’s CMA CGM refuses to use Northern Sea Route

MOSCOW, Aug 26 (PRIME) -- French container operator CMA CGM will refrain from using Arctic routes and the Northern Sea Route of Russia in particular, Le Figaro daily reported on August 24.

The company, which accounts for about 14% of the combined global container fleet, said that it won’t use any of the three Arctic transport routes that are becoming more accessible due to glacial melting to protect the environment in spite of a competitive advantage these routes provide, Figaro said quoting a statement of CMA CGM.

Alexei Bezoborodov, CEO of research agency Infranews, said that the rejection of CMA CGM to use the Northern Sea Route would not have an impact on route development.

“The authorities did not take into account CMA CGM when calculating forecasts and plans for the development of the Northern Sea Route. Mentioning ecology here is strange, because a ship uses less fuel if it sails a shorter route,” he said, adding that the company’s decision will not hurt the route’s cargo traffic.

He also said that the company may change its decision. “It is a matter of argument whether they will or will not use the route. They will join everyone else when other companies start using it,” he said.

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