North Sea Port is hosting the maiden voyage of the first owned ship by BYD, the largest Chinese manufacturer of electric cars. The seven-thousand-car capacity ‘BYD Explorer No. 1’ has been announced for Wednesday 21 February in Vlissingen.
Since mid-January, it was coffee-gazing where the maiden voyage of the ‘BYD Explorer No. 1’ would lead. The first own ship of China’s largest electric car manufacturer BYD was delivered in Yantai on 10 January. The roro car ship with a capacity of seven thousand cars started its maiden voyage from Xiaomo International Logistics Port in Shenzhen with final destination Europe.
Along the way, signals from the satellite beacon were only occasionally noticeable at calls in Singapore and India. Since Monday evening, green lights have been flickering off West Africa, making it clear that the short but currently unsafe route via the Red Sea was exchanged for a circumnavigation of Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. Tracking sites report Vlissingen as final destination on Wednesday 21 February.
242,765 cars
Building its own car ships is a strategic choice for BYD because its current ro-ro fleet cannot keep up with the increasing demand for transport fast enough. “China’s electric vehicle manufacturers reached a historic milestone of 9 million cars last year,” said Wang Junbao, general manager of BYD Corporate Division. “Of these, BYD produced 3.02 million units, making us the largest player in the global electric segment.”
Production remains mainly in China but exports are exploding. In 2023, BYD alone exported 242,765 cars, more than four times as many as in 2022. “The new-build ‘BYD Explorer No. 1’ and seven more sister ships we are commissioning over the next two years are a stepping stone for further expanding our overseas markets. We will also open our fleet to other Chinese carmakers.”
Urgent need
BYD relies on Hong Kong-based ship management company Wallem for maritime work. That is in charge of all ship operations including stowage, route and bunker planning.
Little is known about the details of the call of the ‘BYD Explorer No. 1’ on Wednesday 21 February in Flushing. The public list of expected calls at North Sea Port stretches only a week far. Given the urgent need to transport new cars, it is easy to guess that the capacity for seven thousand cars will be fully utilised.
