China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) said it had secured a new order to build three LNG-powered pure car and truck carriers for Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation, a joint venture led by Cosco Shipping.
According to a statement by CSSC’s GSI on Friday, the shipbuilding deal includes the construction of three LNG dual-fuel PCTCs with a capacity of 7,000 units.
GSI did not reveal the price tag of the deal.
The shipbuilder said that the vessels will be 200 meters long, 38 meters wide, and have a design draft of 8.6 meters.
Besides the LNG dual-fuel propulsion system, they will have a battery system, and various energy saving tech, it said.
With this deal, GSI says it now has 22 LNG-powered PCTCs on order, ranking first in the world.
Earlier this year, GSI revealed orders for LNG-powered PCTCs with South Korea’s H-Line Shipping and China’s BYD Group.
LNG-powered fleet
Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation joined forces in December last year with Japan’s Santoku Senpaku to order six LNG-powered PCTCs in China.
Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry will build these dual-fuel LNG-powered PCTCs with a capacity of 7,500 units.
Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation is a third-party auto logistics supply chain company jointly funded by Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers, Shanghai International Port Group Logistics (SIPGL), and SAIC Anji Logistics.
The company said in a separate statement that it will take delivery of these new LNG-powered vessels in 2026.
With this order, its fleet will grow to 24 LNG-powered car carriers, it said.
Cosco Shipping said in December that Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation launched a new shipbuilding plan in order to alleviate the shortage of PCTC shipping capacity in the Chinese market.
The firm said at the time that the JV plans to put more than 15 large LNG dual-fuel PCTCs with a capacity of 7,000-8,500 units into service from the second half of 2024.
With the delivery of new capacity, the company will gradually expand its route coverage to Europe, South America, Red Sea, Mexico, Australia, and other regions, it said.