China's BYD takes delivery of third 7,000CEU car carrier in series

Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD took delivery of a new pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) from Guangzhou Shipyard International in a ceremony on Wednesday, July 16.

BYD Zhengzhou belongs to the same series as BYD Explorer No 1, which was delivered in 2024, and BYD Hefei, which was handed over earlier this year.

The PCTC was acquired as part of BYD’s CNY5 billion (US$700 million) program of expanding a fleet of eight owned and chartered vessels for transporting vehicle cargo to overseas markets. The company has therefore begun acquiring vehicle carriers of different capacities, including those that can carry 7,000 CEUs.

The newbuild has an LOA of 199.9 metres, a beam of 38 metres, a design draught of 8.6 metres, a capacity of 7,000 vehicles distributed across 13 decks, and a dual-fuel propulsion system that will run on both LNG and conventional fuel oil.

BYD opted for LNG to serve as the ship’s primary fuel due to its significantly reduced NOx and SOx emissions compared to conventional marine fuels.

LNG fuel is fed to the engines and the generators by two IMO type C storage tanks. In LNG mode, the ship can still attain a speed of 19 knots and sail up to 15,800 nautical miles.

Construction of BYD Zhengzhou was completed in compliance with China Classification Society rules.