CMA CGM's missile-hit boxship San Antonio may be scrapped
The CMA CGM San Antonio, struck in the Strait of Hormuz in May, is so badly damaged the carrier may send it for recycling, CEO Rodolphe Saade says.
A CMA CGM containership struck by a missile in the Strait of Hormuz in early May is so badly damaged that the French group may send it for scrapping, chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade said. The attack on the CMA CGM San Antonio injured several crew, who were evacuated; the ship was one of dozens of commercial vessels hit during the Iran conflict.
"It was so damaged that we're wondering whether we should send it for scrapping," Saade told a business conference in southern France. After being stranded in the strait for weeks, the San Antonio has since been escorted to safety. The group does not plan to resume sending ships into the Gulf for now, he added, saying it was the Iranian side currently advising against it.
CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container line, had 14 ships inside the Gulf when the war virtually closed the waterway; several have since exited and the carrier wants more to leave. Saade reiterated his opposition to transit fees for the strait.
