Italy’s Grimaldi Group has exercised its option for two further pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessels.
Last January, the company signed an agreement with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Company Limited (SWS) and China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited (CSTC) – both part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) – for the construction of five PCTC ships. The option for two additional sister vessels was exercised a few days ago, said Grimaldi.
With a length of 200 m, a width of 38 m, and loading capacity of 9,000 car equivalent units (ceu), the newbuildings have been designed to handle motor vehicles and other types of heavy rolling freight weighing up to 250 tonnes. They will be among the first ships equipped with a new type of electronic engines with some of the lowest consumption figures in their category. Thanks to emission abatement systems, the new units will comply with the most stringent limits established at international level for CO2, NOx and SOx emissions.
In addition, the ships received the ammonia-ready class notation from the Italian Shipping Register (RINA), which certifies that they may be converted to ammonia as an alternative, zero-carbon fuel. They are designed for cold ironing with shoreside supply of electricity (where available) during port stays.
“Investing in the design and construction of such large, eco-friendly vessels as these new ammonia-ready PCTC units means making a concrete contribution both to the development of international trade and to the ecological transition in the shipping sector,” said group managing director Emanuele Grimaldi. “Our fleet modernisation project is extremely ambitious, but this is the kind of initiatives that our sector needs to tackle decarbonisation, one of the most urgent and demanding challenges of our time.”
The delivery of the two newly ordered PCTCs is scheduled for 2026.
The deal with the Chinese shipyard for the construction of the seven PCTCs is valued in excess of USD630 million. This investment is part of the Grimaldi Group’s fleet renewal plan, which includes 26 ships currently under construction: 17 ammonia-ready car carriers, five G5-class multipurpose ro-ro units, two GG5G-class hybrid ro-ro vessels, and two Superstar-class ro-pax ships (for the subsidiary Finnlines).
