SAIC adds new 9,500-car cargo ship, bringing its fleet to 36 car carriers

• Anji Soundness began its maiden voyage today and will sail to Europe after loading vehicles at Chinese ports.
• SAIC's other car carrier, the Anji Ansheng, with a capacity of 9,500 vehicles, began its maiden voyage last month.

SAIC Motor (SHA: 600104), the Chinese automaker with the largest fleet of car carriers, has added a new cargo ship.

Anji Logistics' 36th self-operated roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) vessel was delivered today and commenced its maiden voyage, the logistics unit under SAIC announced today.

The vessel, named Anji Soundness, was built by a shipyard under China Merchants Group and is Anji's second ro-ro vessel with 9,500 vehicle spaces.

Anji's first 9,500-vehicle capacity car carrier, the Anji Ansheng, commenced its maiden voyage last month.

These two cargo ships are sister vessels and are currently the largest and most capable next-generation ultra-Panamax car carriers globally, according to Anji.

Anji Soundness will load Chinese-brand passenger vehicles and construction machinery at three Chinese ports in Shanghai, Lianyungang, and Yantai.

It will then sail around the Cape of Good Hope and ultimately arrive in European countries including the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, according to Anji's announcement.

The entire voyage spans about 16,000 nautical miles, with an estimated sea voyage duration of 40 days.

The vessel is equipped with an intelligent ship system capable of collecting data from over 1,300 monitoring points across the entire ship.

It also features a methanol fuel system, providing technical support for future carbon-neutral operations, according to Anji.

Chinese automobile companies have accelerated the establishment of car carrier fleets over the past two years to meet the growing demand for automobile exports.

Geely Auto (HKG: 0175) saw its first self-operated car carrier enter service in late May, carrying over 5,000 vehicles to European countries including the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

At the end of last month, BYD's seventh car carrier was launched. Earlier this month, BYD Xi'an and BYD Changsha -- two of BYD's 9,200-vehicle-capacity ships -- began sea trials.