New dual-fuel car carrier delivered to China's BYD

China's Guangzhou Shipyard International recently delivered a new pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) ordered by local vehicle manufacturer BYD.

BYD Hefei belongs to the same series as BYD Explorer No 1, which was delivered in 2024. However, BYD Hefei is owned by BYD whereas ownership of the earlier PCTC remained with UK shipping company Zodiac Maritime.

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 Hefei was completed in compliance with China Classification Society rules.