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World leading shipping company CMA CGM Group has made a 25million-euro investment in cross-Channel operator Brittany Ferries to help it bounce back after the Covid pandemic by carrying more freight.

The agreement establishes a commercial partnership between the CMA CGM Group, which operates a fleet of 542 container ships around the world, and Brittany Ferries, which has its º£½ÇÊÓƵ headquarters in Plymouth, through the use of available cargo space on board Brittany Ferries’ services to the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula.

It will mean Brittany Ferries carrying more goods aboard its roll-on roll-off (roro) ships, thereby gaining more expertise in freight and logistics and adapting to the post-Covid-19 trend in goods transportation.

This will include the transport of unaccompanied trailers, and offering new transport services so it can better meet the needs of its customers. Both companies will also be able to introduce new roro services

The agreement - which will help the companies work together in passenger and freight transport and promote the development of cross-Channel shipping and underpin France’s position in the sector - was announced at the Assises de l’économie de la mer event, the largest annual conference for France’s sea economy businesses.

The 25m-euro investment includes a 10m-euro quasi-equity package, typically a form of unsecured debt that includes flexible repayment terms. Under the agreement a representative of the CMA CGM Group will join Brittany Ferries’ supervisory board.

CMA CGM and Brittany Ferries, both of which are committed to developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power their ships, will also be looking at ways of sharing their LNG knowledge and resources in areas such as training for French crews and safety procedures.

Both companies have also undertaken to introduce more environmentally-friendly shipping and logistics solutions. Two new LNG-powered ships are due to join Brittany Ferries’ fleet next year and in 2023.

The new Ro-pax vessels, to be named Salamanca and Santoña, will operate services between the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Spain. In addition, Brittany Ferries is about to introduce a new rail freight service to expand its multimodal offering.

By the end of 2022 the company will offer its customers an unaccompanied trailer transport service on the Atlantic coast rail network between Bayonne and Cherbourg.

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Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.

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French-owned Brittany Ferries was launched in 1972 and started operation in January 1973. It now employs 2,474 people and runs 12 vessels between France, the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, Spain and Ireland. But it saw revenue dip to 202.4m euros in 2020, from 469m euros the year before, as the Covid pandemic curbed services, slashing passenger numbers to 752,102 in 2020 from 2,498,354 in 2019.Freight was less badly affected during the pandemic with 160,377 vehicles carried in 2020, compared to 201,554 in 2019. In October 2020, the company predicted a freight boost could occur as trade continued and even expanded post-Covid lockdowns.

The CMA CGM Group serves more than 420 ports on five continents. Its fleet carried close to 21million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent nit) containers in 2020.