Marine Giant: China-Designed World’s Largest Car Carrier Delivered

　　On April 28, the world's largest car carrier ship, independently built by a Chinese shipbuilding company, was delivered in Nansha, Guangzhou. The ship has a maximum loading capacity of 10,800 vehicles, setting a new global record for similar ships' capacity, marking a new breakthrough in China's high-end shipbuilding capabilities, and providing a "Chinese solution" for the global shipping industry's green and low-carbon transition.

　　The ship is named "Glovis Leader" and was built by CSSC Guangzhou Shipyard International in collaboration with CSSC Trading, with the shipowner being South Korea's HMM Shipping Company. It was designed by CSSC Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute, with a total length of 230 meters, a beam of 40 meters, a design draft of 10.5 meters, and a design speed of 19 knots.

　　The "Glovis Leader" is designed with 14 garage decks, capable of flexibly loading electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and heavy trucks, with a single ship's maximum loading capacity reaching 10,800 vehicles. What does this mean? Calculated at 5 meters per standard vehicle, the length of vehicles loaded on this ship, end to end, exceeds 50 kilometers, making it a veritable "giant of the sea."

　　Although called a "giant," the "Glovis Leader" is fuel-efficient and economical, with features such as being green and environmentally friendly, energy-saving and efficient, and safe and reliable.

　　The ship uses an LNG/fuel dual-fuel propulsion system, meeting the International Maritime Organization's Tier III emission standards. It is equipped with a 1450kW permanent magnet shaft generator independently developed by CSSC's 704 Research Institute, capable of "generating electricity while sailing." Additionally, it employs several energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies such as hull form optimization, exhaust gas waste heat recovery, and high-voltage shore power systems.

　　In recent years, "Made in China" has continuously set new records for the "world's largest car carrier ship." At the end of April 2025, BYD's "Shenzhen" with 9,200 standard loading spaces made its maiden export voyage; less than a month later, a new "sea overlord" emerged, with the "Anji Ansheng" having 9,500 spaces making its maiden voyage in May 2025. Both ships were independently built by Chinese shipyards.

　　Behind the frequent record-breaking is the continuous emergence of China's shipbuilding "hard power."

　　Data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in February this year shows that in 2025, China's three major shipbuilding indicators—completed shipbuilding volume, new orders, and orders on hand—have maintained a global lead in market share for 16 consecutive years.

　　Besides "large volume," more eye-catching is "high quality." In recent years, the number of high-tech, high-value-added ship types built and delivered in China has increased significantly, breaking foreign monopolies in some technical fields. Taking car carriers as an example, this ship type is a typical high-value-added ship type with high technical barriers. For decades, high-end car carriers have been monopolized by South Korean and Japanese shipyards, with significant technical challenges in multi-layer thin plate structures, whole vehicle fire prevention, and roll-on/roll-off systems.

　　Industry insiders say that nowadays, many foreign shipping giants are placing large orders with Chinese shipyards, especially for high-end ship types, indicating that the technical maturity and product reliability of China's related ship types have been fully recognized by the international market.

　　Zhou Xuhui, General Manager of Guangzhou Shipyard International, said that in recent years, the company has overcome key core technologies such as thin plate deformation control, hull precision control, and shaft generator through mass production of car carriers. Currently, Guangzhou Shipyard International holds contract amounts totaling 100 billion yuan, with international orders accounting for over 95%, and production schedules arranged until 2030.

　　Car carriers connect the shipbuilding industry chain on one end and the car export supply chain on the other. As the capacity of car carriers continues to increase, China's car exports will also "run" faster in the future.