On November 20, China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Nanjing) (“CMJL (Nanjing)”) held a steel-cutting ceremony for the fourth 9000 CEU PCTC (pure car and truck carrier) being built for SAIC Anji Logistics, marking the official start of construction for the AJ9000-class methanol-ready car carrier.
It is understood that the commencement of construction on this PCTC signifies that all four 9,000 CEU ro-ro vessels commissioned by SAIC Anji Logistics have entered the construction phase. These vessels are scheduled for successive delivery from June 2025 to the first half of 2026.
This series of vessels are all methanol-reserved car carriers, designed by Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI) and classed by DNV and CCS. The total length of the ship is 228 meters, the width is 37.8 meters, the depth is 15.4 meters, the designed draft is 9.1 meters, and the designed speed is 18.3 knots.
As the earliest shipbuilder in China to build ro-ro vessels and deliver the largest number of them, CMJL (Nanjing) has entered a healthy rhythm of process-based, customized and paced mass construction of ro-ro vessels, and has rich experience in shipbuilding quality and progress control.
It is reported that by 2026, after the completion of this batch of custom-built vessels, Anji Logistics’ foreign trade fleet will expand to 22 vessels. These vessels will cover major export destinations such as Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean, the UK, Mexico-West Coast of the US, East Coast of the US, West Coast of South America, and Australia-New Zealand. This expansion will robustly support the rapid growth of overseas business and provide stable transportation capacity for China’s automobile exports.