Founded in Marseilles, France, by Jacques R. Saadé, the Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement (CMA) began in 1978 with only a single ship and four employees. The company initially serviced a single shipping lane in the Mediterranean connecting Beirut and Lattakia with Livorno and Marseilles.
Within two years, CMA had grown to two ships with 65 employees. Expanding services throughout Europe, by 1983 CMA was offering intermodal shipping, allowing goods to be shipped directly to their customers’ doorsteps.
In 1999 CMA merged with CGM, creating the twelfth largest shipping company in the world. Continuing to grow through the twenty-first century, CMA CGM is today the world’s third-largest container shipping company. With nearly 25,000 employees, 64 offices around the globe, and 428 ships calling at 150 ports and operating on 170 lanes, CMA CGM Group is uniquely positioned to meet their customers’ shipping needs.
Services Offered
- Containerized Shipping – the CMA CGM Group offers both dry and reefer container shipping, including general use containers, pallet wide containers, and specialized containers. They have a dedicated department to ensure proper reefer shipping of temperature-controlled cargo, and have the industry’s largest fleet of 45 foot RH pallet wide containers, for use in the intra-European market.
- Non-standard and Oversize – CMA CGM group is able to ship a variety of oversized and over-dimensional cargo, including luxury cars, helicopters, turbines, generators, and a variety of heavy machinery. Additionally, they are experts in breakbulk cargo shipping
- Inland, Intermodal, and “last mile” shipping – the CMA CGM group has intermodal networks on every continent to ensure freight is shipped directly to their customers’ doorstep. They are able to optimize supply chain management and reduce shipping costs with their extensive network, and CGM CGM Group offers easy booking and on-time tracking via their web portal.
Unique Services
- AQUAVIVA – CMA CGM Group offers live lobster and seafood shipping, saving customers on expensive air freight. Fresh seafood is monitored in transit by a team of experts to ensure the quality and safety of the final product.
- RORO – Roll-on roll-off services are currently offered to a few select ports in North Africa. Specifically, the service is available to the ports Mostaganem, Oran, Beje, Rades, La Goulette, and Casablanca.
- Freighter Cruises – Taking a cruise on a container ship can be the adventure of a lifetime. You get to live aboard with a diverse, international crew and experience life at sea. Itineraries are far more flexible than traditional cruise ships. You can choose to stay aboard for weeks, months, or bounce from port to port, catching the next ship out. With 450 ports of call around the world, there’s no shortage of unique destinations awaiting you when you book a freighter cruise with CMA CGM Group.
Accreditations and Affiliations
CMA CGM Group holds the following accreditations or affiliations:
- International Ship Security Certificate (ISSC)
- Safety Management Certificate (SMC)
GMA CGM Group is a member of the World Shipping Council and a party to the Maritime Labour Convention.
Official website: https://www.cma-cgm.com/
Matt is a veteran of the moving industry, a recognized moving expert and is the founder of Mover Focus. Matt holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) majoring in Finance and Marketing and Bachelor of Arts (BA) majoring in Economics and History. He also has completed the EiM (Essentials in International Moving) course from the FIDI Academy. His advice has been featured in Reader’s Digest, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money, Business News Daily and The SpareFoot Blog Go. Read more.