THE French shipping giant CMA CGM has announced that 10 of its ships will be retrofitted with new bulbous bows more suitable for slow steaming.

The ships were first designed to cruise at 24 knots but with the slow steaming they sail 16 to 18 knots, necessitating redesigned bow bulbs.

The bulbous bows exchanges, performed within a week in dry dock, reduce ship fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, the company said.

Bulbous bows are the underwater part of the bow. Because of their influence on the vessel's wave resistance, their design has a major impact on the vessel hydrodynamic efficiency, said the company statement.

Those 10 vessels will be added to the list of 15 vessels, whose bulbous bows have been modified in 2013 and 2014. All vessels that have entered the CMA CGM fleet in 2014 are sailing with optimised bulbous bows.