Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard has added a contract for two LNG-fuelled pure car/truck carrier (PCTC) newbuildings to its order backlog.
SAIC Anji Logistics, the shipping arm of Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, has picked the China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC)-controlled shipyard to construct the 7,600-ceu newbuildings.
Shipbuilding market sources said Jiangnan and China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (CMJL) were the only two shipbuilding companies that participated in a tender held by SAIC Anji in August for the newbuildings.
The tender attracted only two bidders because SAIC Anji would accept only shipyards that have delivered at least four car carriers of more than 3,000 ceu and have the experience in building LNG-fuelled vessels of more than 20,000 dwt. It was also looking to take delivery of the PCTC newbuildings between March and September 2024, which many shipyards could not offer as their berths have been booked.
Officials at Jiangnan and SAIC Anji were not available for comment as China is closed for Golden Week Holiday.
Shipbuilding market players said SAIC Anji is paying Jiangnan around $85m each for the PCTC newbuildings. The 7,600-ceu ships will be equipped with type-C tanks.
The Jiangnan car carrier newbuildings will be far larger than any vessel SAIC Anji has owned. According to Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network, the outfit controls 18 vessels of between 246 ceu and 4,300 ceu.
Early this year, Cosco Shipping Specialised Carriers announced it would be teaming up with SAIC Anji to set up a carrier transportation outfit to target domestic and overseas business. SAIC Anji will be the major shareholder of the joint company, with a 65% stake.
Established in 1867, state-owned Jiangnan is the oldest shipyard in China. The shipbuilder is reputed for building gas carriers, as it was the country’s first shipyard to break into the sector by winning a domestic order to build a 3,000-cbm pressurised LPG carrier in the late 1980s.
Although gas carriers are Jiangnan's forte, the company is also building containerships up to megamax in size, in addition to car carriers.
According to Clarksons, Jiangnan is building three 3,600-ceu PCTC newbuildings for UECC — a joint venture between Japan's NYK Line and Sweden's Wallenius Lines. The European ro-ro specialist ordered the trio, which will be LNG-fuelled battery-hybrid vessels, at a cost of $50m each in 2019.
Jiangnan is slated to deliver the first vessel, to be named Auto Advance, in October. The second vessel is due in November and the last ship early next year.
