MSC-Backed GCC Adds Two More Vessels, Expanding Newbuild Program to 22 Ships

Global Car Carriers (GCC), the vehicle carrier shipping line controlled by MSC, has added two new large car carriers built in China, bringing the total number of vessels in its newbuilding program to 22. The former Gram Car Carriers ordered two 8,600 CEU pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) with LNG dual-fuel propulsion from Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard, with delivery expected in 2030.

The two vessels, identified as Viking NB 21 and Viking NB 22 in the Oslo-based carrier's fleet registry, bring its total orderbook to eighteen 8,600 CEU units and four 7,000 CEU units, with a combined capacity of 182,800 vehicles. None of the sources disclosed the agreed price for this contract.

With this deal, Zhoushan Changhong joins the ranks of Chinese shipyards involved in GCC's growing newbuilding program. The shipyard is already a key partner of MSC in shipbuilding, with a series of contracts for LNG dual-fuel container ships, including 21,700 TEU vessels.

The new order comes just weeks after GCC added eight 8,600 CEU vessels at China Merchants Weihai, Guangzhou Shipyard International, and Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, which at the time had brought its program to 20 ships worth more than $2 billion. In July, the company had only 12 newbuilds on order, and its entire program is currently concentrated in Chinese shipyards, with deliveries scheduled between 2028 and 2030.

The fleet expansion accelerated after MSC took control of the then Oslo-listed Gram Car Carriers in 2024, in a deal valued at around $700 million, according to Splash 247 and Datamar News. The group controlled by the Aponte family later took the company private and, earlier this year, renamed it Global Car Carriers. Ports News Russia reported that the acquisition was completed in July 2024 by SAS Shipping Agencies Services, a subsidiary of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.