GSI wins another order for dual-fuel PCTC trio

Guangzhou Shipbuilding International Co., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), has secured a contract for the construction of three dual-fuel vehicle carriers continuing its winning streak in the sector.

The order involves the construction of three 8,600 CEU pure car truck carriers (PCTCs) that will be built for an unnamed shipowner from Asia. This is the second batch of PCTCs of this size for GSI, which comes on the back of a similar deal signed with South Korea’s H-Line Company.

The latest contract brings the shipbuilder’s orderbook to 25 dual-fuel car carriers, which GSI says is the largest in the world. The impressive order buildup has been created since 2021 when GSI received its first 7,000 CEU dual-fuel gig in the PCTC sector from Norway’s SFL.

The deal is being announced on the back of last week’s contract with Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation, COSCO Shipping’s joint venture, to build three 7,000 CEU pure car truck carriers.

The dual-fuel car carriers will be able to run on LNG and conventional fuel. The trio will feature green, smart and energy-efficient characteristics including single bow thrusters, drag-reducing anti-fouling paints and semi-suspended twisted rudder systems, GSI noted.

According to GSI, the 8,600 CEU series is an expanded version of the 7,000 CEU design. In addition to a dual-fuel propulsion system, the vessel series features a 14-layer vehicle deck and has the capacity to transport 8,600 vehicles.

The rise in the ordering of car carriers over the recent period is driven by the current supply and demand imbalance in the market caused by insufficient vessel capacity to meet China’s booming car export capacity. The number of automobile exports in China has increased significantly year-on-year, reaching 682,000 vehicles, GSI said.

The shipbuilder noted that opening up of the car carrier construction market and securing batch orders is a way for GSI to find a high-quality development path in the extremely fierce market competition.