SIMIC

FRENCH short-sea shipping line, La Meridionale, serving Corsican and Sardinian ports, has been purchased by CMA CGM, the world's third biggest shipping company after Maersk and MSC, reports Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide.

The Marseille-based company's three vessels serve the Corsican ports of Bastia, Ajaccio and Propriano, and Porto Torres in Sardinia. The fleet is exclusively composed of mixed vessels. It is part of the STEF group and, together with the former SNCM, provides passage to Corsica.



CMA CGM stated ambition is to boost Corsica's reputation as a travel destination and increasing employment and training opportunities in the French shipping industry.



La Meridionale currently has four ro-pax vessels, which operate up to 13 weekly crossings between Marseille, Porto Vecchio and Ajaccio, plus connections between Marseille and Morocco.



The acquisition complements the new division of the CMA CGM Group dedicated to specialised shipping operations. This division, which reflects CMA CGM's desire to continue innovating in the shipping sector, encompasses the new car carrier business, the stake in Brittany Ferries, the leading French-flagged passenger and vehicle shipping operator in the Atlantic Arc, as well as the investment in NEOLINE, a Nantes-based company developing the first sail-powered ro-ro vessel, and now La Meridionale.