Image courtesy Grimaldi Group
Italian shipping group Grimaldi has grown its newbuild orderbook with five additional “ammonia-ready” pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) to be constructed in China.
The five vessels were attached as an option to a contract signed in October with China Merchants Heavy Industries (CMI) in Jiangsu for an initial five vessels.
The order brings the number of new “ammonia-ready” car carriers ordered by the Neapolitan company to 15 vessels ordered over only 3 months.
The ten vessels commissioned from China Merchants Heavy Industries Jiangsu will be delivered between 2025 and 2027. The new PCTCs will be deployed on routes between Europe, North Africa, and the Near and Far East to meet new demand from the automotive industry.
In addition to the ten vessels at CMI, Grimaldi earlier this month ordered another five “ammonia-ready” PCTCs from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Company Limited (SWS) and China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited (CSTC), two subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), for $630 million.
The PCTCs are designed by Knud E. Hansen with 9,000 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) capacity. The vessels will receive the Ammonia Ready class notation from Italian classification society RINA, certifying them for conversion for the use of ammonia as marine fuel.
The CMI vessels will also be equipped with lithium batteries, solar panels, shore connection capability (cold ironing), air lubrication, and an optimized hull design to reduce fuel consumption by 50% compared to earlier-generation car carriers.
“Grimaldi is committed to green shipping and will lead further the car shipping transportation field”, stated CMI President Hu Xianpu. “CMI Group will also take the green technology shipbuilding as a new growth point and cooperate with Grimaldi to achieve common long-term development.”
In total, Grimaldi Group has 25 “ultra-modern” newbuild vessels on order, representing a $2.5 billion investment, with deliveries planned in the next five years, fifteen of which are ammonia-ready PCTCs. The company also has an option for another two units, six G5-class ro-ro multipurpose vessels, two GG5G-class hybrid ro-ro ships and two Superstar-class ro-pax units (for its subsidiary Finnlines).
“With our recent orders for the construction of new PCTC vessels, we’ve strengthened our long lasting and fruitful collaboration with China Merchant Industry Holdings,” said Grimaldi Group Managing Director Emanuele Grimaldi. “We’ve also reaffirmed our commitment to our customers, especially the world’s leading car manufacturers who continue to reward us with their trust. In this way, we’ll continue to live up to their high expectations and meet their evolving needs, with our offer of increasingly efficient and environmentally sustainable shipping services. Ten out of fifteen of our newly ordered car carriers will be deployed on the Far East trade and support the increasing development of China’s automotive industry.”
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