Splash247 — 2022-08-22
Maritime and Ports
In the unprecedented shipping markets witnessed during the pandemic, cargo types have migrated to all manner of alternate vessels, a new phenomenon which has seen boxes taken on bulk carriers, logs on newcastlemaxes and now cars in a pulp carrier.
China’s largest maritime conglomerate, state-run COSCO has developed a foldable car frame, where vehicles can then be stacked into ships not traditionally associated with the movement of automobiles.
The company’s brand new COSCO SHIPPING Wisdom, a 62,000 dwt multipurpose pulp carrier, which delivered from the company’s Dalian yard earlier this month, has now embarked on a maiden voyage from Taicang in Jiangsu province to deliver 1,100 Chinese export vehicles to South America.
COSCO came up with the concept to overcome tightness in the car carrier segment, a shipping sector that has seen rates leap up dramatically this year.
The COSCO SHIPPING Wisdom features a 72,500 cu m box-type cargo hold, ideally suited to this new form of car frames. Container spreaders can carry the frames on and off the vessel.
The ship will then carry pulp back from South America to China with more COSCO newbuilds slated to join this new service offering.