Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a shipping company specialising in car transport, sees opportunities for further growth: the company has ordered four new ships in China, with an option for a further eight in total.
Since 2023, the Norwegian shipping company has been modernising its fleet as part of the largest renewal programme in the company’s history to date. Following the first deliveries, Wallenius Wilhelmsen has now announced plans to add further vessels to its fleet in order to meet growing demand. The first of these will be four new car and truck carriers (PCTCs), which are to be built by Jinling Shipyard in China and fitted with dual-fuel propulsion systems. In addition, there are options for up to eight further vessels, with deliveries scheduled up to 2032. Should the company exercise all these options, the total investment will amount to $1.5 billion.
“We continue to see attractive opportunities in the segments we serve,” said Xavier Leroi, Chief Operating Officer of Shipping Services at Wallenius Wilhelmsen. “We want to ensure that we have the necessary capacity, flexibility and efficiency to provide our customers with the best possible support in the coming decades. The expansion of our newbuild programme – with deliveries from 2030 onwards – underlines our confidence in the long-term fundamentals of the market. We are investing today so that we can continue to grow alongside our customers in the future and further consolidate our leading position in RoRo deep-sea shipping.”
Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s fleet grows to 26 vessels
The investment builds on Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s ongoing “Shaper Class” fleet renewal programme, under which vessels have already been delivered and entered service. The vessels have been specifically designed for the shipping company’s trade routes. They feature height-adjustable decks, high-load-bearing ramps and flexible cargo hold configurations, enabling the transport of a wide range of cargo. The first newbuild in the series is the “Arctic Tern”, which was delivered in July.
The ships’ design is intended to enable lower-emission transport that is also economically viable. The agreement reached with Jinling followed a private placement by the company announced in early October, which raised around $300 million. The vessels will have a capacity of 9,900 CEU and be fitted with LNG dual-fuel engines. The four vessels on firm order are due to be delivered from mid-2030; there are also options for a further four vessels in 2031 and another four in 2032. Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s fleet renewal programme now comprises a total of 26 vessels, including the options.
