Grimaldi Group takes delivery of second ammonia-ready car carrier Grande Auckland

Grimaldi Group has taken delivery of Grande Auckland, the second of seven ammonia-ready pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) under construction at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) and China Shipbuilding Trading Company (CSTC), both subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). The delivery ceremony was held in Shanghai on September 9, 2025.

The vessel measures 200 meters in length, 38 meters in beam, and has a gross tonnage of about 77,500 tons. It is designed for the transport of a wide range of vehicles, including cars, SUVs, vans, and electric vehicles, as well as other rolling cargo. The ship offers a loading capacity of 9,241 car equivalent units (CEU) and includes four decks configured to accommodate large rolling units, with heavy loads of up to 250 tons and a maximum height of 6.5 meters.

Propulsion is provided by a MAN B&W 7S60 ME-C10.6-HPSCR TIER II–TIER III electronic engine, which meets international requirements for CO₂, NOx, and SOx emissions. Grimaldi noted that the optimized hull design and onboard technologies reduce the vessel’s CO₂ emission index per transported cargo by up to 50 percent compared with earlier-generation PCTCs.

The Grande Auckland carries the Ammonia Ready class notation from Italian classification society RINA, confirming that it can be converted in the future to run on ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel. The ship is also equipped for cold ironing, enabling the use of shore-side electricity while berthed in ports with available infrastructure.

Named after the city of Auckland, New Zealand, which has been part of Grimaldi’s regular monthly service from Europe since 2023, the vessel will begin operations on the Asia–Europe route. Its maiden voyage will depart from Shanghai and Lianyungang with 4,900 vehicles and 3,300 linear meters of rolling cargo, calling at Agadir and Tanger Med in Morocco, Vigo in Spain, Antwerp in Belgium, and Southampton in the United Kingdom. On the return leg to Asia, the vessel will call at La Réunion, Yokohama and Toyohashi in Japan, and Masan in South Korea.