Custom-built 7,800 CEU LNG dual-fuel car carrier delivered to SAIC Anji

SAIC Anji Logistics, a logistics unit owned by Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp, has taken delivery of its first custom-built 7,800 CEU LNG dual-fuel car carrier from Jiangnan Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

The naming and delivery ceremony for the Anji Prestige was held on December 23, 2024. Following its maiden voyage to Europe, the car carrier is scheduled to be put into service on the US-Mexico route.

Courtesy of SAIC Anji Logistics

Courtesy of SAIC Anji Logistics

As explained, the newbuild RoRo ship was designed by the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), incorporating features such as a wide range of applicable models, strong cargo capacity, high loading and unloading efficiency, flexible fuel selection, low fuel consumption per parking space, good green energy saving, high degree of automation, and high domestic independence of core equipment.

The main engine WinGD 7X62DF2.1, iCER system, LNG containment and gas supply system, RoRo equipment system, and other key equipment were all delivered by units under the CSIC group.

The 7,800 CEU RoRo ship is a further upgrade of the 7,600 CEU model with an expanded deck garage. Compared with the previous model, Anji Prestige boasts an increase of about 200 parking spaces.

To remind, at the beginning of 2024, SAIC Anji Logistics welcomed the first LNG dual-fuel RoRo ship, SAIC Anji Sincerity. Featuring 7,600 parking spaces, the vessel was described as the world’s largest ship of its kind at the time. Its sister vessel, SAIC Anji Splendor, was delivered in July 2024.

Over the next three years, SAIC Anji Logistics plans to enhance its ocean-going fleet by integrating 14 transport ships of the 7,000, 7,600, 7,800, and 9,000 CEU classes. In addition to LNG, the company has also invested in methanol-ready newbuilds.

This strategic expansion aims to actively support China’s independent brands, accelerating their overseas expansion initiatives.

In line with this strategy, Chinese state-owned transportation service conglomerate COSCO SHIPPING Group and terminal operator Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) recently invested in SAIC Anji Logistics, each obtaining 10% of the company’s shares.

The move is expected to deepen the strategic cooperation among the three companies in the field of global automotive supply chain and help Chinese auto brands accelerate their “going global” strategy.

COSCO and SIPG each invested CNY 1 billion (about $137 million) in SAIC Anji Logistics which intends to use the funds to expand its international business, including investment in RoRo fleets and supporting logistics services, to create a “door-to-door” international full-chain service system for “Chinese vehicles going global”.

As an addition to China’s growing car carrier shipbuilding sector and prompting a new era for the country’s transport of domestically built cars, BYD – known as ‘the world’s largest’ plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufacturer – also took delivery of two 7,000 CEU LNG dual-fuel car carriers this year.