The dual-fuel car carrier with a capacity of packing 8,600 vehicles, named Wen Jing Kou, is delivered on March 20, 2025. Photo: Screenshot of the China Media Group report
A domestically made dual-fuel vessel for transporting cars was delivered on Thursday with remarkable performance and efficiency, demonstrating China's shipbuilding prowess, which increasingly helps meet the rising overseas demand for Chinese cars, according to media reports.
The large vehicle carrier is 199.9 meters long and 38 meters at the beam. As a dual-fuel vessel capable of using both fuel and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as power sources, it boasts 14 decks capable of carrying up to 8,600 vehicles, including cars, trucks and buses. Its design optimizes loading and unloading efficiency, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Thursday.
Its hull assembly and commissioning time at the dock and shipyard took just 200 days, marking the fastest construction period for a large vehicle carrier in China, according to CMG.
Named
Wen Jing Kou and built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co and China Shipbuilding Trading Co, the vessel also boasts versatile cargo adaptability, flexible loading configurations, environmentally friendly emissions, operational agility and cost effectiveness, Chinanews.com reported on Thursday.
The
Wen Jing Kou is set for its maiden voyage on a Europe liner service, departing from Shanghai with more than 5,700 commercial vehicles and engineering equipment bound for major European ports, including Bristol in the UK and Zeebrugge in Belgium.
The operation will alleviate the pressing demand for capacity on the European route, which will also inject robust momentum from Chinese manufacturing into global vehicle trade and the green development of international shipping, per the report on Chinanews.com.
China has become a leading car exporter, thanks to the rise of Chinese new-energy vehicles (NEVs). In 2024, NEV exports rose 6.7 percent to 1.28 million units, maintaining global leadership, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers in January.
China's shipbuilding industry has also maintained global leadership for many years. China's three major shipbuilding indicators all showed positive trends in 2024, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed in January. The figures also marked
the 15th consecutive year that China led these indicators globally, according to official data.
China's new shipbuilding orders for green power vessels have been steadily increasing in terms of global market share, rising from 31.5 percent in 2021 to 78.5 percent in 2024. Some shipbuilding companies have made technical reserves in green fuel areas such as LNG, hydrogen and ammonia, positioning themselves to secure orders promptly, according to media reports.
Global Times
