Deltamarin to design largest vehicle carriers so far
The upsized vessels will share many of the integral design features of the Shaper Class
(Source: Deltamarin)
China Merchants-owned Finnish ship design firm, Deltamarin, has landed a deal with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu) for the design of larger Shaper Class pure car truck carriers in an existing order from Wallenius Wilhelmsen. On delivery in 2027, the ships will be the largest pure car truck carriers in service.
The contract covers six of the 14 ships in the series that are already on order, raising their capacity from 9,300 CEU to 12,100 CEU while also incorporating additional environmental features. Deltamarin’s brief is to provide the shipyard with comprehensive basic and detail design services, incorporating upgrades to optimise fuel efficiency, safety, and sustainability on the larger ships. The revamped ships will also have stronger ramps to provide extra high-and-heavy capacity for the future needs of global logistics.
However, they will still incorporate many of the design features of the existing Shaper Class vessels. These will include dual-fuel engines capable of running on methanol to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. They are likely to prove the most sustainable vessels in the shipping company’s fleet so far.
The Oslo-headquartered company has a net-zero end-to-end service target date of 2027 and the larger vessels are intended to meet customer demand for greener transport and reduced emissions at every stage of vehicle transport.
The first Shaper Class vessels are due for delivery in the second half of 2026. The six larger ships will follow late in 2027.
