CMA CGM’s unit CEVA Logistics is entering the car carrier segment with a charter deal for four Eastern Pacific Shipping’s LNG-powered PCTCs.
CEVA said in a statement on Wednesday it has signed 10-year lease with its parent company, CMA CGM, for four of Eastern Pacific Shipping’s LNG dual-fuel hybrid deep-sea vessels.
These vessels will allow CEVA to transport about 140,000 vehicles annually between global markets, especially China and Europe.
The RoRo ships are currently under construction by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai), with the first vessel expected to be delivered in December and the three subsequent ships coming in 2024, it said.
Under the lease agreement, CEVA Logistics will manage and operate the vessels with full commercial control over the RoRo capacity, it said.
At nearly 200 meters in length, the vessels will each have the capacity to transport 7,000 cars thanks to nearly 59,000 square meters of effective deck surface spread across 12 levels.
With a width of 38 meters, the ships will have a gross tonnage of 72,000 tons and move at a max speed of 19.5 knots.
The RoRo vessels’ hybrid power systems will include both LNG and electric battery capabilities.
Last moth, China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai has started building the third of six LNG-powered pure car and truck carriers for Idan Ofer’s EPS.
In August last year, the shipbuilder started building the first vessel in this batch, followed by the steel-cutting for the second in November.
Besides these six ships, EPS also has LNG-powered PCTCs on order at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Jiangsu.
Finland’s Wartsila has won a contract to supply its hybrid propulsion system for eleven new LNG dual-fuel PCTCs ordered by EPS in China.