Recently, Canadian shipowner Seaspan Corporation has placed another order for two of the world’s largest pure car and track carriers (PCTCs), and the new shipbuildings will be primarily fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to Trade Winds.
Two LNG dual-fuel PCTC shipbuilding contract was signed this month, sources said. Details of the order were not disclosed, and it was reported that the cost of a single unit may be about $120 million, with the total value of the order being about $240 million (roughly RMB 1.728 billion).
As the world’s largest independent owner of container ships, Seaspan is mainly committed to long-term, fixed-rate charters with the world’s largest container liner companies.
On December 5 last year, Seaspan signed a contract with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), for the construction of 6+4 10,800 ceu LNG dual-fuel PCTCs; and on the same day, Seaspan joined hands with South Korean shipowner HMM (formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine) to sign a contract with Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI), a subsidiary of CSSC, for the construction of 6+4 10,800 ceu LNG dual-fuel PCTCs.
According to the announcement of CSSC on December 5, 2023, SWS and GSI have respectively signed 6+4 PCTCs with a total value of approximately US$1.46 billion and a single unit cost of approximately US$122 million.
Seaspan has revealed that the two latest new PCTCs were ordered under a long-term charter contract with a well-known logistics company. Although no shipyard information was disclosed, based on the cost of the single unit and fuel selection, it is speculated that they are likely to be SWS and/or GSI.
It is understood that 10,800 ceu LNG dual-fuel PCTC is a mega PCTC newbuilding project that exceeds 10,000 ceu for the first time in the history globally, which is of milestone significance in the history of development of the world’s PCTC ship type, breaking the record of 4+8 9350 ceu PCTCs undertaken by China Merchants Industry Nanjing Jinling yard from the Norwegian shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen in October last year.
Designed by Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI), the 10,800 ceu PCTC is equipped with 14 car decks, 5 of which are elevated or movable decks, providing excellent loading capacity for ultra-high and ultra-heavy ro-ro cargoes.
Among them, the multi-storey deck is suitable for loading new energy vehicles such as hydrogen vehicles, compressed natural gas (CLNG) vehicles, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles and other new energy vehicles. The rest of the decks are suitable for carrying packaged dangerous goods cargoes and refrigerated containers, which greatly enhances the diversity and flexibility of cargo loading.
In addition, the PCTC is designed with an ammonia fuel reservation and a methanol fuel reservation, which can be retrofitted to use “carbon neutral” fuels in the future.