China has broken the record for the world’s largest car carrier for the second time in under a month with the sailaway of the Anji Ansheng, a 9,500 ceu ship owned by SAIC Anji Logistics, a subsidiary of China’s giant car manufacturer SAIC.
The world’s largest car carrier in terms of capacity set sail on its maiden voyage to Europe from Shanghai on Thursday evening with around 7,000 Chinese-made vehicles.
This surpassed a record set in the last week of April, when the 9,200 ceu BYD Shenzhen left a yard in China on its maiden voyage to Brazil. The BYD-owned vessel took the title from the Höegh Autoliners’ Aurora class series by 100 cars in terms of capacity.
The new world record holder, the Anji Ansheng, measures 228 m in length and 37.8 m in width, slightly longer than the 219 m long BYD Shenzhen.
The avalanche of newbuilds coming out of China comes at a time when analysts are turning bearish on the trade. A recent report from Veson Nautical predicts a scenario of negative car-mile growth through 2026 and 2027.
By contrast, the company believes that supply growth is expected to be in positive double-digit territory over the same period, suggesting an accelerated correction in both time charter rates and asset values, with levels likely reverting towards long-term historical averages. However, Veson forecasts that this will be followed by a major scrapping phase reminiscent of 2009.