A pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) has crossed the "10,000-vehicle wall" for the first time. Glovis Leader, deployed by Hyundai Glovis, is the world's largest PCTC, able to carry 10,800 vehicles based on compact cars. Among ships delivered so far, this is the first case of carrying more than 10,000 cars. Inside the 230-meter-long, 40-meter-wide hull are 14 vehicle decks, and the total cargo space is the size of 28 soccer fields.
Glovis Leader was ordered and received by HMM and is operated by Hyundai Glovis under a long-term charter, with construction handled by Guangzhou Shipyard International under China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC). The design was undertaken by Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute. Chinese media, noting the ship's delivery, said it "opened a new breakthrough for China's high-end shipbuilding capability."
◇ Variable decks tailored to vehicle types and lashing that controls sway are key
According to the shipping industry on the 10th, a PCTC is a dedicated carrier for finished cars, trucks, and construction machinery. The interior of the ship is similar to a multi-story parking garage. Unlike container ships, which load cargo in boxes with cranes, vehicles are driven directly into the ship through an aft ramp and loaded onto multiple decks as if parking. From a distance, it looks like a giant parking lot floating on the sea.
That does not mean the internal structure is as simple as a regular parking lot. On recent car carriers, not only passenger cars but also electric and hydrogen vehicles that are heavy due to battery weight, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), buses, trailers, and construction equipment are loaded together.
Glovis Leader made 5 of its 14 decks variable-height decks to load such diverse vehicles at once. Unlike conventional PCTCs that densely loaded standardized internal-combustion passenger cars, it increases loading flexibility by adjusting deck spacing to match the different heights and weights of each vehicle type. Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute said it expanded vehicle deck area by 16%–20% compared with 9,000-vehicle-class ships while cutting operating fuel cost per vehicle by more than 8%.
The most important task on a car carrier is "lashing." Lashing is the work of tying down and securing vehicles so they do not move. At sea, a ship constantly pitches, rolls, and heaves as it meets waves and wind. If a vehicle shifts even slightly, it can hit the one next to it or be damaged. On ultra-large ships that carry more than 10,000 vehicles, these small movements can directly lead to major accidents causing large-scale cargo damage.
This is where the technical difficulty of ultra-large PCTCs diverges. Rather than simply being ships that carry many cars, ultra-large PCTCs are closer to precise logistics equipment that can load many cars quickly and secure them safely. With the increase of relatively heavy vehicles such as electric cars and the addition of large commercial vehicles and construction equipment, deck-by-deck load distribution and lashing have become far more complex. More than the number of units loaded, what determines actual transport quality is which deck the vehicles are placed on and how they are secured.
Guangzhou Shipyard International deployed thin-plate thermal deformation control technology to secure ultra-large hull precision that underpins this. To reduce hull weight while increasing the number of parking levels, thin steel plates must be used, but if those plates warp from welding heat, roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) equipment and hydraulic systems that move vehicles between decks can malfunction.
Guangzhou Shipyard International said it "controlled the thermal deformation of numerous thin-plate structures and managed hull precision without error to ensure the stability of the key passage Ro-Ro equipment and hydraulic systems." Inside the ship are a dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion system and a 1,450-kilowatt permanent-magnet shaft generator that produces electricity from excess power during voyages, and these core systems were also developed by the 704 Research Institute under China State Shipbuilding Corp.
◇ A 10,000-vehicle class born from a surge in car exports… China seizes the newbuild market
The 10,000-vehicle-class PCTC emerged because there were too few car carriers compared with the number of vehicles to export. Since 2021, after COVID-19, long-haul seaborne exports of Chinese electric vehicles and finished cars have grown rapidly, worsening the shortage of car carriers. As freight space ran short and rates soared, shipping lines placed orders for ultra-large PCTCs from 2021 to 2024, and Chinese shipyards absorbed a large share of those orders. According to shipping research firm AXSMarine, of the 276 PCTCs delivered or scheduled for delivery from 2023 to 2028, 219 ships, or 79.4%, are from Chinese shipyards.
Guangzhou Shipyard International, which built Glovis Leader, gained process experience by repeatedly building 7,000-vehicle-class ships, moved up to 8,600-vehicle class, and then leaped to 10,800-vehicle class to seize the market. Korean shipbuilders increased orders when container ship prices peaked two years ago, but have since focused on higher value-added ships such as LNG carriers. A shipbuilding industry official said, "From the perspective of Korean shipbuilders, PCTCs are less a core ship type and more a complementary one to fill docks when price and delivery terms align."
With a wave of large orders being delivered, concerns about oversupply in the PCTC market are also emerging. AXSMarine said, "While new order contracts have plunged since last year, a large number of previously ordered ships have been delivered, setting a record-high 75 PCTC deliveries in 2025," and added, "If the scrapping pace of old vessels does not keep up with newbuild deliveries, excess capacity and rate pressure could intensify. The adoption of eco-friendly fuel systems and larger sizes will determine the market's direction going forward."