SIMIC

FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM announced that it plans to invest US$600 million dollars to expand on its newly acquired terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey, which it has renamed Port Liberty New York and Port Liberty Bayonne.

CMA CGM announced in December 2022 that it had entered into an agreement with Global Container Terminals, which operated the two terminals in the New York New Jersey port as well as two other terminals in British Columbia, Canada. The French group acquired the GCT Bayonne and GCT New York terminals after receiving approvals in the summer of 2023.



The two terminals are located in Bayonne, New Jersey, and on Staten Island, New York near the Goethals Bridge. At the time of the acquisition, CMA CGM said they had a combined capacity of 2 million TEU per year but had the potential for significant expansion, including possibly doubling their capacity. The terminals are continuing to operate as multi-user facilities.



The company reports it has reached an agreement with the two states for investments into the terminals to accelerate the operations and contribute to regional decarbonization efforts, reports Fort Lauderdale's The Maritime Executive.



The terminal in Bayonne calls itself the closest container terminal to the harbour entrance, saying that its position can reduce transit total time by more than four hours. The facility incorporates 167 acres with a 2,700-foot berth. The Bayonne terminal is also reported to have the highest level of automation and the ability to service vessels of up to 18,000 TEUs.



The terminal on Staten Island occupies 187 acres and features on-dock rail service, and is the only facility in the harbour with an on-dock Centralized Examination Station and a 66,400-square foot refrigerated warehouse. It has a 3,012-foot contiguous berth and six post-Panamax cranes. The berth was deepened to fifty feet in 2015.



With the investment, capacity at the two terminals will be increased by up to 80 per cent.



"The acquisition of these two terminals is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to the US market in building more resilient and more sustainable supply chains. It is a major step forward in our strategy of developing and modernizing infrastructures here and around the world," said Rodolphe Saade, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group. "Port Liberty New York and Port Liberty Bayonne on the East Coast, together with FMS on the West Coast now rank as CMA CGM's flagship terminals in North America."



At the beginning of 2022, CMA CGM completed the acquisition of Fenix Marine Services (FMS), which operates one of the terminals in the Port of Los Angeles and is reported to be the third largest terminal in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex. CMA CGM now owns a total of seven terminals in the US.