The vessel, named BYD Explorer No.1, was chartered to BYD by the ship owner and will sail to Europe after loading vehicles.

(Image credit: CIMC)

The first car carrier in BYD's fleet has been put into service and the vessel will transport vehicles to Europe on its upcoming maiden voyage.

State-owned China International Marine Containers (CIMC) announced on January 10 that the first 7,000-CEU (car equivalent unit) car carrier built by its CIMC Raffles for international shipping company Zodiac Maritime was delivered and departed from Longkou base in Shandong, east China.

The vessel, named BYD Explorer No. 1, was chartered by the owner to BYD as the first vessel in the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker's fleet, according to a CIMC statement.

The vessel arrived at Yantai port in Shandong province at 6 pm on January 9 local time to begin loading vehicles, and will then proceed to Xiaomo port in Shenzhen to load more vehicles for shipment to Europe.

BYD Explorer No.1 is the first Chinese shipyard-built, transport vessel for Chinese car exports and will help BYD achieve rapid delivery and expansion in overseas markets, according to the statement.

The vessel has an overall length of 199.9 meters, a beam of 38 meters, a design draft of 8.6 meters, a design speed of 19 knots (35 kilometers per hour), and a loading capacity of 7,000 vehicles.

Equipped with two sets of C-type liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks, the vessel uses LNG as the main fuel for the main engine and generator, and has a maximum range of 15,800 nautical miles.

BYD's expansion into overseas markets is increasing the demand for marine transportation capacity. Over the past two years, BYD has been rumored several times to be building its own car carriers to support NEV exports.

On October 29, 2022, local media outlet Caixin, citing multiple sources, said a BYD affiliate would order eight ro-ro vessels with a capacity of 7,700 cars at a shipyard in Yantai, Shandong province, at a total cost of nearly 5 billion yuan ($700 million).

On January 23, 2023, Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited (GSI), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), said it had been awarded two pure car/truck carriers (PCTC) by BYD.

The two dual-fuel PCTCs, which can be powered by either LNG or oil, are each capable of carrying up to 7,000 vehicles, GSI said.

In November, GSI announced that it started construction on its No. 1 vessel for BYD on November 6 in Nansha, Guangzhou.

BYD sold a record 341,043 NEVs in December, bringing full-year 2023 sales to 3,024,417.

The company sold 36,095 NEVs overseas in December, taking overseas NEV sales in 2023 to 242,765 units, an increase of about five times from 2022.

($1 = RMB 7.1617)

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