Switzerland’s Sallaum Lines is the latest shipowner to jump on the pure car/truck carrier newbuild bandwagon as the sector’s tonnage supply squeeze continues.
The company has struck a deal with China’s Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding for two LNG dual-fuel, 7,500-ceu newbuildings to be delivered in 2025, according to shipbuilding sources.
The price was not disclosed, but brokers suggest Sallaum will be paying close to $90m per ship.
Officials at Mawei were not available for comment.
Sallaum said in January that it was looking to “build on its fleet size with sustainable vessels conforming with International Maritime Organization regulations”.
Shipbuilding players believed the two-ship deal at Mawei is the first PCTC newbuilding contract for the owner since it was founded in 2009 by Ibrahim Sallaum. It has set a target of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.
In January, Sallaum Lines was reported to have expanded its car carrier fleet by acquiring two scrubber-fitted vessels from Siem Car Carriers — the 4,900-ceu Silver Queen (ex-Siem Plato, built 2009) and Silver Sky (ex-Siem Socrates, built 2010) — to service new contracts with BMW and Ford. It is using the two vessels to ship 100,000 cars per year from Durban in South Africa to European markets.
Sallaum is said to be a top 10 global car carrier. Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network lists it with a fleet of five owned car carriers. But the company’s website shows it controls close to 30 ships.
Shipyards in China have been busy raking in PCTC contracts. Demand for the ship type is strong due to the limited number of newbuildings ordered over the past few years.
According to Clarksons, the orderbook for PCTC newbuildings stands close to 90 units, almost all of them LNG dual-fuel.
Clarksons Platou Securities believes that between 100 and 200 new car carriers are needed from 2024 to 2030 to meet demand growth and compensate for attrition due to age and new regulations.
