Zodiac Maritime has ordered two additional LNG-powered pure car and truck carriers at China’s CIMC Raffles in Yantai, according to shipbuilding sources.
The LNG dual-fuel PCTCs will have a capacity of 7,000 units.
With this order, Zodiac Maritime has in total 10 7,000-ceu LNG-powered PCTCs on order at CIMC Raffles, the sources told LNG Prime on Tuesday.
Also, Eyel Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime is expected to start taking deliveries of these ships in late 2024.
The price tag has not been revealed but it is expected to be higher than the $83 million per ship Zodiac Maritime agreed to pay for the first four LNG-powered ships back in 2021.
CIMC Raffles and Zodiac Maritime signed the first contract in September 2021 for four firm vessels with multiple options.
VesselsValue data shows that the contract included up to 12 LNG-powered PCTCs and that Zodiac Maritime ordered more PCTCs in 2022.
The firm is expected to take delivery of these vessels during 2023-2025, the data shows.
Back in February 2022, Singapore-based C-LNG Solutions won a contract from CIMC Raffles to provide its LNG fuel gas supply system for each of the first four dual-fuel PCTCs with a capacity of 7000 units.
Moreover, these ships will have two sets of 1,600-cbm type C LNG tanks that will deliver fuel to MAN’s ME-GI high-pressure engine, C-LNG said at the time.
Designed by the Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI), the vessels will have a length of 199.90 meters, a width of 38 meters, and a service speed of 19 knots.