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A SAIC Motor Subsidiary Will Operate the World’s Largest Dual-Fuel Car Carrier

If the cars and trucks of the future are supposed to run on clean energy, it makes sense that the massive vessels used for shipping them should also follow the same principle. Even though these types of changes are harder to implement in the maritime industry, there are several directions that look promising for improving environmental protection. One of them is the extensive use of LNG (liquefied natural gas).
SAIC Motor's logistics subsidiary will operate the world's largest car carrier powered by natural gas 6 photos
Photo: SAIC Motor
Dual-Fuel Car CarrierDual-Fuel Car CarrierDual-Fuel Car CarrierCSSC Car CarrierCSSC Car Carrier
At the beginning of this year, SAIC Motor and CSSC signed an agreement to build two pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) that would be fueled by LNG. Two units of the CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation), the Jiangnan Shipyard and China Shipbuilding Trading, are in charge of building the future vessels for SAIC AnJi Logistics, a SAIC Motor subsidiary.

Part of the new generation of post-Panamax car carriers, these vessels are supposed to comply with the increasingly harsher environmental restrictions imposed by international regulators. In this case, they would also become the world’s largest ships powered by dual fuel.

The Jiangnan shipyard already kicked off construction for the first dual-fuel PTCT after the steel-cutting ceremony was held at the end of last week, according to Offshore Energy. It will be almost 200-meter-long (656 feet) and 13-meter-wide (42.6 feet), revealing a total of 13 cargo decks, four of which are movable.

A total number of 7,600 car units will be carried by this PTCT that uses LNG as the main fuel, with an option for marine gasoil (MGO) and low sulfur fuel oil (LSFO). Plus, it’s fitted with the ICER technology developed by WinGD for improving fuel efficiency and reducing methane emissions (methane slip).

Designed by the Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI), both the vessel that’s being built now and the one that will follow will become the world’s largest dual-fuel car carriers in service. SAIC AnJi Logistics is expected to start operating them by the end of 2024.
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About the author: Otilia Drăgan
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Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
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