CMA CGM, a French-based shipping company, has launched a groundbreaking initiative in Vietnam aimed at reducing its carbon footprint.
They have introduced the first fully electric container barge in the country, connecting Nike’s manufacturing sites to the country’s Cai Mep container port.
This initiative, named Green River Transportation, is a joint venture between CMA CGM and Gemadept, a port operator based in Marseilles, France. The new entity will be responsible for managing river transport services in the Mekong Delta region.
CMA CGM’s CMA Ships and research and development teams collaborated on the design of the electric barge. It is powered by a dedicated charging station connected to a new solar farm located on the Gemalink terminal at Cai Mep. This solar farm, jointly owned by CMA CGM and Gemadept, has the potential to generate up to 1 GWh of green electricity annually. By utilizing this zero-emissions solution, the barge will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions on the 112-mile route between Binh Duong province and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, in southern Vietnam. This reduction is expected to amount to 778 tons per year.
Nike, a well-known American multinational corporation based in Beaverton, Oregon, has been a longstanding customer of CMA CGM.
CMA CGM believes that this low-carbon logistics model has the potential to be replicated with other customers and expanded to additional countries, particularly in regions where inland waterways play a crucial role in supply chains.
The electric barge is scheduled to enter service in early 2026, aligning with CMA CGM’s global strategy to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This ambitious goal is achieved through a combination of low-carbon technologies and alternative fuels.
