Zodiac Maritime has placed an order for two PCTCs at Raffles Shipyard, with delivery scheduled for 2028, following the successful delivery of our previous order of ten vessels. Both of the new ships will be the latest-generation dual-fuel PCTCs.
Our fleet currently comprises 22 PCTCs, the majority of which are Panamax-class vessels, and on a tonnage basis, predominantly dual-fuel. Across this fleet, we have completed more than 100 LNG bunkering operations and operate dual-fuel vessels across all four of our fleets.
Zodiac Maritime was the first foreign company to deliver PCTCs to a Chinese car manufacturer, and the first charterer of PCTCs to BYD and Geely. We also have PCTC newbuildings in partnership with Anji Shipping, and remain a trusted partner of the biggest Chinese car manufacturers.
ZODIAC MARITIME RETURNS TO CHINESE YARD FOR MORE PANAMAX VEHICLE CARRIERS
By Robert Willmington, 19 May 2026, Lloyd’s List
- Latest order appears to reflect continuing faith in vehicle shipping market, as tight vessel supply and elevated charter rates persist
- Ships are understood to have been ordered on a speculative basis, without secured long-term charters
Latest newbuilding contract extends Zodiac Maritime’s fleet renewal strategy, following big orders last year for new containerships and tankers
Zodiac Maritime has returned to Chinese shipbuilder Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard for further panamax-class pure car and truck carrier newbuildings.
The latest order provides for two dual-fuel liquefied natural gas, 7,000 ceu, ships with delivery booked for 2028.
It follows newbuilding contracts for 10 vessels of the same design, ordered from Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore between 2021 and 2023.
They all entered service between 2023 and 2025, with most either leased or time chartered either to China’s BYD, Geely or SAIC.
China has rapidly expanded its presence in the global vehicle shipping trade via a long-term push to ship domestically made vehicles on ships owned, or chartered, by the vehicle manufacturers themselves.
Chinese vehicle producers are linked to a quarter of the more than 230 new vehicle carriers ordered since 2021.
As part of this strategy, Zodiac Maritime was the first shipowner to be selected by a Chinese vehicle manufacturer to provide chartered ships.
Zodiac Maritime’s latest vessels have been ordered during a period of continued tight fleet capacity and strong charter rates. They are understood to have been ordered speculatively, without time charters attached so far.
In addition to the 10 ships delivered in the past three years, Zodiac Maritime controls a further 12 PCTCs built between 2007 and 2018. The company is the world’s third-largest tonnage provider of vehicle carriers.
Zodiac Maritime’s latest deals cap off a newbuilding ordering spree that began last year across several vessel segments.
In December 2025, the company signed an order with China’s Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry for six 9,000 teu containerships and eight very large crude carriers.
Two months earlier, Zodiac placed an order for three suezmax tankers at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, with construction to be mostly carried out in Vietnam through a joint venture shipyard.
October also saw Zodiac book five 6,000 teu containerships at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard tied to a long-term charter with Hong Kong’s OOCL, including options for further vessels.
More recently, the company was linked to an order for three very large ammonia carriers at South Korean yard Hanwha Ocean, signed in early May.