World’s largest dual-fuel car carriers ordered in China

Jiangnan Shipyard and China Shipbuilding Trading, units of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), have received an order for the construction of two “world’s largest” dual-fuel pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs).

The two 7,600 CEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel ocean-going vehicle carriers will be built for SAIC AnJi Logistics, a subsidiary of China’s automobile manufacturer SAIC Motor.

The ship type is said to be the largest dual-fuel PCTC in the world, making a historic breakthrough in the country’s shipbuilding sector, according to CSSC.

CSSC and SAIC Motor signed a shipbuilding agreement in Shanghai on 17 January 2022.

Complying with international environmental regulations, the ship type represents a new generation of post-Panamax car carriers.

The low-carbon environmentally friendly vessels will have a deadweight tonnage of 13,100 tons. With 13 cargo decks including four movable decks, the PCTCs will feature a length of 199.9 meters and a width of 38 meters.

Classed by DNV and China Classification Society (CCS), the newbuilds will use LNG as the main fuel and will have an option to use marine gasoil (MGO) and low sulfur fuel oil (LSFO).

In late December 2021, CSSC’s Jiangnan Shipyard launched another LNG dual-fuel PCTC. The LNG battery hybrid unit Auto Advance was launched for United European Car Carriers (UECC), a Norway-based provider of shortsea RoRo transportation.