On December 21st, H1600, a 8,600CEU LNG dual-fuel car carrier jointly ordered by Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation (COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers’ joint venture) and CITIC Financial Leasing, successfully commenced construction at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. So far, all the 24 newbuildings ordered by Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation have been built in 4 shipyards in China.
The vessel is designed by Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI). The ship has an overall length of 199.9 meters, a beam of 38 meters, a depth of 14.8 meters, a design draft of 9.2 meters and a design speed of 19.0 kn. Using MAN B&W 7S60MEC10.5-GI-HPSCR main engine, the vessel meets TIER II/III specification. The maximum load capacity is 20,000 tons, with a total of 14 vehicle decks, carrying up to 8,600 vehicles.
It is reported that since 2022, Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation has ordered 7,000~8,600CEU LNG dual-fuel automobile ships from four shipyards in China one after another. So far, Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation has ordered 24 new vessels. The contracted shipyards are: Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry, Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, Guangzhou Shipbuilding International(GSI) and Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. The new vessels will be delivered by the end of 2026, when the fleet of Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation will reach 30 vessels, realizing the export carrying capacity of China’s commercial vehicles of more than 700,000 units per year.
Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation placed orders with Fujian Shipbuilding for six 7,500CEU dual-fuel car carriers respectively, bringing the total number to 12 vessels. Among them, Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry and Mawei Shipbuilding, which are subsidiaries of Fujian Shipbuilding, undertook the construction of 9 and 3 ships respectively.
In March 2023, Guangzhou Yuanhai Car Carrier Transportation ordered three additional 7,000CEU dual-fuel car carriers from GSI. Together with the six ordered in 2022, the shipowner ordered a total of nine car carriers from GSI. It is worth mentioning that the order quantity of car carriers held by GSI ranks first in the world.
In addition, in October 2022, the shipowner signed a contract with Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for the construction of three 8,600CEU dual-fuel car carriers.This is also the first time for Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding to enter the field of car carriers.