16 ships! Nanjing Jinling once again wins the world's largest methanol dual fuel vehicle ship order
On March 25th, the world's largest automotive transport company, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, announced the official signing of a contract with China Merchants Industries Nanjing Jinling for the construction of four new generation "The Shaper Class" 9300 berth methanol dual fuel automotive transport ships, along with an additional order for four alternative ships.
Including the latest orders, the number of orders for the world's largest methanol powered vehicle transport ships in Nanjing Jinling has increased to 16. According to previous estimates from ship brokerage firm Fearnley Securities, the total order value for all 16 vessels will reach approximately $2 billion (approximately RMB 14.456 billion) at a price of $120-13 million per vessel.
It is reported that this series of methanol dual fuel ships was developed by Wallenius Wilhelmsen in collaboration with Deltamarin, a Finnish design company under China Merchants Industries. It is a single propeller ship that can carry about 9300 standard vehicles. At the same time, the cargo hold can also accommodate hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and compressed natural gas vehicles. A container loading area is also set up on the exposed deck. The vessel meets the requirements of EEDI 3 and Tier III, and in addition to being able to operate with methanol fuel, it will also adopt an ammonia fuel reservation design. When ammonia fuel can be safely and reliably used, immediate modification can be achieved. In the future, shipowners will also install equipment such as bubble drag reduction, solar energy, and batteries, making it an energy-saving and environmentally friendly green ship.
It is worth mentioning that Wallenius Wilhelmsen's new ship is also the world's largest methanol dual fuel vehicle transport ship to date. According to Clarkson's data, the loading capacity of this batch of new ships, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, has reached 9350 vehicles, exceeding the two 9300 vehicle methanol dual fuel ships ordered by China Merchants Shipping at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) in March last year.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen signed a contract with Jinling, Nanjing in October last year for the construction of 4+4+4 9300 parking car transport ships, with the first 4 expected to be delivered in the second half of 2026. In February of this year, Wallenius Wilhelmsen confirmed the execution of the first four alternative orders in Jinling, Nanjing, namely the four newly signed formal construction contracts. These new ships are scheduled to be delivered gradually from May to November 2027.
With the finalization of four additional alternative ships, Wallenius Wilhelmsen currently holds a total of eight alternative orders for automotive transport ships in Jinling, Nanjing, which are yet to take effect.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen stated that the company has not yet made any decision on whether to execute more alternative orders, and adding four additional alternative ships does not necessarily mean that the goals of the current new shipbuilding plan have improved.
According to the International Shipbuilding Network, Wallenius Wilhelmsen is a private Norwegian/Swedish shipping company founded in 1999 by Wallenius Lines and Wilh Wilhelmsen is jointly owned by two shipping companies. The company is a global market leader in roll on/roll off shipping and vehicle logistics, vehicle transportation, trucking, and rolling transportation. It operates a fleet of approximately 130 ships and serves 32 trade routes to five continents.
It is understood that China Merchants Industrial Nanjing Jinling is the earliest, most delivered, and most comprehensive manufacturer of roll on/roll off ships in China, specializing in leading or new generation roll on/roll off ship products. As a core member of China Merchants Industry's roll on/roll off ship construction, Nanjing Jinling's core product "roll on/roll off ship" has been selected as a national manufacturing "single champion", leading the global roll on/roll off ship manufacturing field for many consecutive years.
According to Clarkson's data, with the addition of Wallenius Wilhelmsen's latest 4 ships, China Merchants Industrial Nanjing Jinling's automotive transport ships hold orders for 31 ships, surpassing Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (30 ships) and China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) (29 ships), ranking first in the world. Meanwhile, another shipyard under China Merchants Industry, Weihai Jinling Automobile Transport Ship, holds 9 orders and ranks 9th globally. China Merchants Industrial Group holds a total of 69 orders for automotive transport ships, firmly occupying the leading position in this ship type field.
