CMA CGM
CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company. It is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company, using 257 shipping routes between 420 ports in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Marseille, France and its North American headquarters are in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The name is an acronym of two predecessor companies, Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA) and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM), which translate as "Maritime Freighting Company" and "General Maritime Company". History. The history of CMA CGM can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century, when two major French shipping  lines were created, respectively Messageries Maritimes (MM) in 1851 and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) in 1855, soon renamed Compagnie Générale Transatlantique in 1861. Both companies were created partly with the backing of the French State, through the award of mail contracts to various destinations, French colonies and overseas territories as well as foreign countries. After the two World Wars, the two companies became "State owned corporations of the competitive sector" ("Entreprise publique du secteur concurrentiel"), i.e. companies that, while owned by the State, were run as private for-profit businesses operating in competitive markets. The French government, under President Valéry  Giscard d'Estaing and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, progressively merged the two companies between 1974 and 1977 to form Compagnie Générale Maritime, which was still owned by the French government and still run as a competitive business, although sometimes subject to political pressure, for instance on the selection of shipyards to build new ships. Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) operated as such from 1974 to 1996 when it was privatized by the French state under President Chirac and Prime Minister Alain Juppé. During these 22 years it operated freight and container liner services in various global trade lanes, as well as a  fleet of dry bulk ships, and a few large oil tankers and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankers, with headquarters located in Paris' western suburbs, first in Paris-La Defense, then in close by Suresnes. The CGM liner services, mostly containerized but also operating a significant fleet of "Con-Ro" vessels able to load roll-on/roll-off cargoes, were re-structured from the two parent companies' main trade lanes, i.e. Western trade lanes (Americas) for Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT) and Eastern trade lanes (Asia, East Africa, Pacific, plus Eastern South America) for Messageries Maritimes (MM). After merger and re-structure , CGM's liner services were managed in four distinct Trade Divisions, North America & Far East (AMNEO, for Amérique du Nord & Extrême Orient) which also managed the bulk and tanker fleets, South America & Caribbean (AMLAT), Pacific & Indian Ocean (PACOI) and Short Sea Trades (Cabotage). Separately, Jacques Saadé had created CMA in 1978 as an intra-Mediterranean liner service operator, based in Marseille. In 1996, CGM was privatized and sold to Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA) to form CMA CGM. In 1998 the combined company purchased Australian National Lines (ANL). In September 2005 CMA CGM acquired its French rival Delmas based in Le  Havre from the Bolloré Group for €600 million. The acquisition was completed in early January 5, 2006. The resulting corporation became the third largest container company in the world behind the Danish A.P. Moller-Maersk Group and the Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. In May 2007, a consortium represented by CMA-CGM completed its acquisition of Compagnie Maroccaine de Navigation (Comanav) for a sum of €200 million. In July 2007, CMA-CGM acquired Cheng Lie Navigation Corp. (CNC Line), Intra-Asia container line based in Taiwan. In 2014, CMA CGM signs the Ocean Three agreements. The group strengthens  its offer by signing major agreements on the biggest worldwide maritime trades with CSCL and UASC. In April 2015, the group acquired a strategic stake in LCL Logistix, a logistics leader in India, via its subsidiary CMA CGM LOG. In December 2015, CMA CGM "Benjamin Franklin" called at the Port of Los Angeles and thus became the largest vessel ever to call the United States. The container-ship, long and wide, was inaugurated in Port of Long Beach on February 19. In July 2016 CMA CGM finalized its acquisition of Singapore-based NOL (Neptune Orient Lines) and its container line  APL (American President Lines) after an all-cash offer of US$2.4 billion. The takeover is CMA CGM's largest acquisition and the purchase added 12 percent market share to the CMA CGM group. The Singapore Exchange Securities Trading suspended trading of NOL shares at the end of the offer. In June 2017, CMA CGM acquire Mercosul Line, a Brazilian shipping company specialized in multimodal door-to-door container transportation and logistics. In October 2018, CMA CGM finalized the acquisition of Finland-based container-transportation and logistics company Containerships. In April 2019, CMA CGM completed its public tender offer to  acquire CEVA Logistics. With this acquisition, the CMA CGM Group becomes a global leader in transport and logistics, 110,000 people strong with more than $30,3 billion in revenue. CEVA operational center is transferred in Marseille, France, where is located the Head Office of the CMA CGM Group. In February 2021, CMA CGM Group completes its logistics offer by creating a new division dedicated to air freight: CMA CGM Air Cargo. With its four Airbus A330-200F cargo aircraft, this airfreight division links Europe to North America. The first flight from Liège to Chicago marks the debut of commercial operations . In September 2021, CMA CGM announced a partnership with fellow Breton-based operator Brittany Ferries. The partnership involves a €25 million investment, plus a CMA CGM representative joining Brittany Ferries' supervisory board. Subsidiaries. Maritime activities Terminal activities Intermodal activities and logistics Support activities Air services CMA CGM Corporate Foundation for Children. Established in 2005, the CMA CGM Corporate Foundation for Children seeks to improve the overall well-being of children around the world. It defined three targets: Fleet. In 2021, CMA CGM's fleet included: The fleet has 200 maritime services and calls at more than 420 ports in  160 countries. There are 521 commercial ports in the world at the moment. Some emblematic group's vessels are: Air fleet. As of 2021, CMA CGM Air Cargo, a CMA CGM division set up as an air freight carrier operates four cargo jets, with another seven on order: In addition to the existing fleet, CMA CGM has also signed an MoU for an additional four Airbus A350 freighter jets. These will operate alongside an A330P2F and two Boeing 777 Freighters. Accidents and incidents. On April 4, 2008, pirates seized the CMA CGM luxury cruise ship "Le Ponant" off the coast  of Somalia. CMA CGM and its affiliates have been victimized in various arms-shipping incidents. As a result of CMA CGM's involvement in Iranian weapons smuggling, US congressmen have called on CMA CGM to be investigated and urged the US Treasury Department to consider levying sanctions against the shipper. The company has since implemented tighter procedures for accepting shipments bound for Iran, including scanning all containers destined for the country. CMA CGM has also ceased exporting from Iranian ports since November 2011. Section::::"CMA CGM Centaurus". On 4 May 2017, the container ship "CMA CGM Centaurus" made heavy contact with  the quay and two shore cranes while under pilotage during its arrival at Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. The accident resulted in the collapse of a shore crane and 10 injuries to shore personnel. Section::::"CMA CGM Washington". On 20 January 2018, the container ship "CMA CGM Washington" was on-route to Los Angeles, US, from Xiamen, China, when it experienced heavy waves in the North Pacific Ocean. The crew discovered that three bays, 54, 58 and 18, collapsed, which led to the loss of 137 containers and damage of another 85. Section::::"CMA CGM Norma". On 24 December 2018, the container  ship "CMA CGM Norma" was involved in a collision with the China-flagged general cargo ship "Yusheng366" in the waters south of Hong Kong. All the crew from "Yusheng366" were rescued as they abandoned ship before she sank, while "CMA CGM Norma" suffered minor damages.