With the “Grande Tianjin”, the Grimaldi Group has taken delivery of the first of a total of seven Pure Car & Truck Carriers (PCTC) ordered in China.
The 200 meters long and 38 meters wide “ammonia-ready” vessel was built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) and handed over in the port of Shanghai on Friday. For SWS, it is also the 600th ship delivered since the shipyard was founded.
The “Grande Tianjin” has a capacity of 9,241 CEU and can transport cars, SUVs and vans as well as heavy rolling cargo of up to 250 tons and a height of up to 6.5 meters. It is powered by an “MAN B&W 7S60 ME-C10.6-HPSCR” engine, which meets the limits for CO₂, NOx and SOx emissions. According to Grimaldi, the vessel’s size and optimized technology should reduce CO₂ emissions per transported unit by up to 50% compared to older PCTC series.
Other components include an air lubrication system under the hull, an optimized hull design and a gate rudder, which was installed on a PCTC ship for the first time. This rudder, with two blades arranged on either side of the propeller, is designed to improve propulsion efficiency and maneuverability.
The vessel has been certified by the Italian classification society Rina and is equipped to use shore power in port. From mid-August, the “Grande Tianjin” will be deployed on the East Asia-North Europe route.
The handover ceremony was attended by SWS President Chen Gang, Leapmotor International CEO Tianshu Xin and Luigi Pacella Grimaldi, Automotive Intercontinental Director of the shipping company, among others. Leapmotor has been Grimaldi’s logistics partner since 2022 and will load around 1,000 new electric SUVs on the maiden voyage.
