On March 29, a steel cutting ceremony was held for the 9,200 ceu PCTC (pure car and track carrier) project built by China Merchants Industry Jinling (Nanjing)Shipyard (CMI Jinling (Nanjing)) for BYD, marking the official entry of the PCTC into the construction phase.
The new PCTC comes from an order signed by BYD and China Merchants Industry for four 9200 ceu dual-fuel PCTCs, which is the largest PCTC ever ordered by BYD.
The four new PCTCs, each costing at least 700 million yuan, will be built by CMI Jinling (Nanjing) and Jiangsu Merchants Heavy Industry, for two each respectively, and are expected to be delivered one after another from 2025 onwards.
In February this year, Chairman of BYD, Wang Chuanfu, introduced that BYD’s first ro-ro ship “BYD EXPLORER NO.1” has been put into operation in January 2024 for first shipment. In the next two years, BYD would have seven more car carriers to be put into operation one after another to alleviate the shortage of export capacity.
It is reported that “BYD EXPLORER NO.1” is chartered to BYD by Zodiac Maritime, which is the first ro-ro vessel for BYD. Built by CIMC Raffles, a subsidiary of CIMC Group, the ro-ro vessel is also the first car carrier built in China, which specialized in the export of domestic cars.
In addition to China Merchants Industry’s undertaking of BYD’s new PCTCs, at the beginning of the Chinese New Year in 2023, Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), announced that it had taken effect an order for two BYD 7,000 ceu dual-fuel car carriers, which is the first time BYD as the final cargo owner has ordered car carriers. Its first PCTC has started construction in November 2023 in Guangzhou.
BYD 7000 ceu dual-fuel PCTC is the “green low-carbon upgraded version 2.0” of the 7000 ceu PCTC series under construction by GSI. With an overall length of 200 meters, a beam of 38 meters, a design draft of 9 meters and a design speed of 18.5 knots, the PCTC adopts a natural gas (LNG)/fuel oil dual-fuel propulsion system to meet the requirements of intelligent ships. The PCTC is equipped with battery system and axle belt generator for the first time, and at the same time adopts various energy-saving measures such as energy-saving devices and drag-reducing anti-fouling paint.
It is worth mentioning that the 9200 ceu car carrier started by CMI Jinling (Nanjing) is also the first PCTC to be loaded with BYD’s marine box-type battery pack. It is understood that BYD’s energy storage battery technology and shaft generator system system will be applied on the ordered new PCTCs.
