Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping is believed to have continued its drive into the car carrier market.
Shipbuilding sources said the company had added six more LNG dual-fuelled 5,500-ceu pure car/truck carrier newbuildings to its orderbook.
Eastern Pacific is believed to be paying about $80m each for the midsize vessels, the sources said.
The sextet brings the total number of dual-fuelled PCTC newbuildings it has ordered since 2021 to 30 vessels, worth almost $2.5bn.
Three years ago, Eastern Pacific owned only seven PCTCs, one of which — the 4,902-ceu Lake Superior (renamed Gold Star, built 2007) — was sold in 2022 for $50m to XT Shipping.
The sources said Eastern Pacific had signed for four vessels at Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and two at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard.
They said the new ships were options held at the yards after orders were placed in June.
If confirmed, Eastern Pacific now has eight 5,500-teu vessels on order at Fujian Mawei and four at China Merchants Jinling.
Fujian Mawei is scheduled to deliver four vessels in 2027 and four in 2028, while China Merchants Jinling’s quartet is lined up for 2027 delivery.
One car carrier player said Eastern Pacific had secured charter contracts for six of the newbuildings.
Spanish ro-ro car carrier operator Suardiaz Shipping Lines is named as the charterer of two of the vessels, although the periods and rates have not been disclosed.
Suardiaz is likely to deploy the carriers between China and Japan, the US, Oceania or Europe.
Eastern Pacific is one of the most active shipping companies in investing in dual-fuel PCTC newbuildings.
Between 2021 and early this year, it ordered 18 units of 7,000 ceu at yards under China Merchants Jinling.
Eastern Pacific has since taken delivery of nine vessels and the remaining nine panamaxes are scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year and in the first quarter of 2026.
Car carrier brokers said only two of the 7,000-ceu PCTCs are still charter-free.
Operators using Eastern Pacific’s new vessels include Mitsui OSK Lines’ car carrier division MOL Ace, Volkswagen and CMA CGM subsidiary CEVA Logistics.
