A new car carrier venture is looking at ammonia and methanol as future fuels for its newbuildings.
But at first, Global Auto Carriers (GAC) will focus on LNG as bunkers for a series of up to eight dual-fuel vessels it is ordering in China.
The company is being formed by investors that back Oslo-listed Gram Car Carriers (GCC).
Led by German shipowner F Laeisz, GAC will soon put pen to paper on contracts for four 7,000-teu ships and options for four more at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard, as TradeWinds reported on Monday.
Gram chief executive Georg Whist, whose company will manage the fleet, said the ships will be multi-fuel vessels that will run on LNG initially.
“There is flexibility to adjust final configuration based on dialogues with potential charterers. This could also include future potential ammonia and methanol-based solution,” he said.
“We are active in developing future low-emission fuels and have been conducting trials with biofuels on one of our vessels. This is something we will continue to work on.”
Whist said there are currently no more plans for new ships beyond these eight.
GAC has been formed by F Laeisz together with AL Maritime Holding, AS Clipper and a subsidiary of Surfside Holding.
These companies were among a group that took stakes in Gram in January as part of the $121m private placement that saw it list in Oslo following the pulling of an initial public offering in 2021.
No exposure to unchartered ships
Asked why a new company was formed, rather than working through Gram itself, Whist said his own firm is focused on operating existing vessels under long-term charters and providing shareholders with attractive and predictable dividends.
Gram has been awarded warrants that could eventually give it a 7.5% stake in GAC.
“By supporting the foundation of GAC we have used our market connections to create attractive additional revenue streams for GCC and the potential for a meaningful future equity stake without adding any capital expenditure and ownership of vessels which have no time charter contracts,” the CEO explained.
“This is very much true to our strategy.”
AL Maritime is a company controlled by the Bunnemann family in Hamburg, which owns container ship players Asiatic Lloyd in Singapore and Atlantic Lloyd in Hamburg.
Surfside is controlled by Norwegian investor Morten Astrup.
Investors well known to bosses
Whist describes the GAC shareholders as experienced shipping investors, many of which have long individual track records of investing in pure car/truck carriers (PCTCs).
“They were all well known to management before they become investors in GCC. In addition to Laeisz, who became the largest shareholder in the company after the private placement…, they were all cornerstone investors in the GCC listing,” the boss said.
The first four newbuildings are due in 2025 and 2026. The options would follow in 2027 and 2028.
F Laeisz took shares in Gram worth $61.6m during the private placement, for a stake of at least 25.25%.
The stock was payment for two car carriers it sold to Gram, bringing the fleet to 18 ships.
Founder Peter D Gram and his family were previously the biggest shareholders on about 20%.
