COVID-19: the CMA CGM Group has set up a maritime bridge to ship several hundred million facemasks to France

July 14, 2020

With this unprecedented, tailor-made arrangement implemented in close cooperation with the public authorities, CMA CGM mobilizes in support of France’s efforts to fight the pandemic.
The CMA CGM JULES VERNE, the 5^th of the Group’s vessels to ship facemasks and medical equipment to France, arrived in Dunkirk on Tuesday, July 7^th.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the CMA CGM Group has leveraged the full breadth of its expertise to meet France’s procurement needs.

The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, established a maritime bridge between China and France on May 20^th to safeguard France’s supplies of facemasks and medical equipment, which are essential to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CMA CGM Group has set up an unprecedented maritime bridge to supply France with facemasks and medical equipment

Several hundred million facemasks have been or will be transported by sea under this arrangement, thanks to the efforts of the CMA CGM Group and of all its employees, in France and around the world. The masks ordered by the French Government will then be distributed to the various regions and healthcare facilities.

The CMA CGM JULES VERNE, which departed Shanghai on June 8^th, is the fifth vessel to call France under this unprecedented setup. She arrived in Dunkirk on Tuesday, July 7^th.

The establishment of this maritime bridge allows to:

Significantly increase the volumes of protective equipment transported, including facemasks,
Maintain the continuity of supply lines to healthcare facilities,
Rebuild France’s strategic inventories for the months ahead.

The CMA CGM Group has been providing its support and leveraging its logistics network since the crisis began

This maritime bridge builds on the CMA CGM Group’s commitment to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in France and around the world. Through its subsidiary CEVA Logistics, the Group has already put unparalleled resources in place to create an air bridge. Since early April, several hundred million facemasks have thus been transported by air to help tackle the health emergency.

The CMA CGM Group’s employees have strongly mobilized in these exceptional circumstances. More generally, the CMA CGM Group has continued to operate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has leveraged its expertise to help transport essential goods and products.