From terminal to terminal
CMA CGM building in Yokohama. Moving to a new site within a port isn’t easy. In Japan, CMA CGM has secured a place in the new Honmokufuto D5 terminal with the port authority.
Why stray afar when good fortune sometimes lies so close at hand? Japan’s Yokohama Kawasaki International Port Corporation (Ykip) and the French carrier CMA CGM recently signed a reservation agreement for a site in the port of Yokohama’s new Honmokufuto D5 container terminal. The agreement enables the French shipping line CMA CGM’s container terminal operations to be relocated from a site in the D4 facility to one in the new D5 terminal by October 2026.
The D5 terminal has been designed to meet the foreseeable needs of the next generation of maritime vessels. The berth is 400 m long and has a draught of 16 m, which means it can also welcome larger containerships with capacities of up to 15,000 teu.
The D5 terminal has also been designed to offer 20% more stacking space for containers and about 120% more reefer connections than today. This will open up opportunities for CMA CGM, amongst other players, to more easily handle the growing volume of shipments of Latin American fresh fruit arriving in Yokohama, also on the French shipping line’s weekly Asia–Central South America 1 service (Acsa1).
LNG bunkering facilities are also being developed in the port. This will allow CMA CGM’s LNG-fuelled vessels to be ready for e-methane (a base for carbon-neutral fuel). CMA CGM has 32 LNG-fuelled and e-methane-ready vessels, and by 2026 will operate a fleet of 77 such units.
The two partners are both fully aware of the great importance of the project. “The Honmokufuto D5 facility is a key part of our medium-term management plan,” said Ykip president and CEO Shinya Hitomi.
The port of Yokohama has been synonymous with Japan’s international trading activities ever since 1859, which is why it was included in the country’s quintet of ‘strategic ports’ in 2011 – with Tokyo, Kawasaki, Kobe and Osaka. In 2021 the port handled around 2.86 million teu, 7.6% more than in 2020. That year’s figure, however, already stood 12% below the one for the previous year.