Hyundai Glovis, the shipping and logistics specialist of the Hyundai Motor Group, is set to order an extensive series of pure car/truck carriers (PCTCs) of record-breaking capacity. 

The Seoul-based company’s board has authorised a planned $1.84m investment calling for the construction of 12 newbuilds of 10,800 car-equivalent unit (CEU) load intake. Each will be specified with LNG dual-fuel machinery. A shipbuilding contract has yet to be announced, although it is indicated that completion of the entire programme is sought by 2027.

The largest PCTCs at sea are Hoegh Autoliners’ 8,500 ceu Horizon-class vessels, completed by Xiamen in 2015-2016. The Norwegian operator is due to commission the first of 12 Aurora-class newbuilds of 9,100 ceu from China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) during the second half of 2024, while Wallenius Wilhelmsen last month firmed-up a deal with CM Jinling Shipyard covering four PCTCs of 9,350 ceu, plus eight options.

The contractual commitments by leading Nordic names in the sector, and the fleet development signalled by Hyundai Glovis, follow a decade of restrained ordering of PCTCs and the post-pandemic rebound in car demand.