Global Auto Carriers (GAC), a new firm backed by Norway’s Gram Car Carriers, has ordered four LNG dual-fuel PCTCs at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai.
CMI Weihai said in a statement it has signed the shipbuilding deal with GAC during a virtual ceremony on May 16.
Besides four firm dual-fuel vessels with a capacity of 7,000 units, the order also includes options for 2+2 ships.
To remind, Gram Car Carriers revealed this order in a statement last month. The firm said then that it had expected GAC to enter into the shipbuilding contracts for the four vessels in early second quarter of 2022.
Delivery of the PCTCs will take place from the fourth quarter of 2025 through the fourth quarter of 2026.
Designed by SDARI and classified by DNV, the vessels will be 199.9 meters long and 38 meters wide, with a speed of 19 knots, according to the Chinese shipbuilder.
In addition, they will have 12 vehicle decks, a high-pressure dual-fuel main engine and two C-type LNG tanks with a capacity of 1,700 cubic meters.
CMI Weihai did not reveal the price tag of the deal.
This new contract for CMI Weihai follows orders for six similar LNG-powered PCTCs from Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping. EPS will pay about $87 million per ship under this order.