Chinese liner enters car carrier market with Mediterranean service

Ningbo Ocean Shipping has made its first move into the car carrier business, launching a ro-ro service that connects China directly to the Mediterranean. The vessel Clean Star, a 7,000 ceu LNG dual-fuel newbuild, sailed this week from Ningbo-Zhoushan Port.

The ship is loading more than 5,400 new energy vehicles before heading to Gioia Tauro in Italy and Barcelona in Spain. The voyage from eastern China is expected to take around 20 days.

The service marks the first time the Zhejiang-based liner operator has extended its network to continental Europe. It has traditionally focused on container, dry bulk and breakbulk trades, running around 120 vessels.

The Clean Star, built by Yantai CIMC Raffles, is nearly 200 metres long with 12 vehicle decks. It can carry passenger cars, trucks, construction machinery and other high-and-heavy cargoes. The vessel can run on LNG or conventional fuel, is shore-power capable and carries an ammonia-ready notation.

Ningbo Ocean Shipping has chartered the ship for two years at a reported $80,000 per day. The contract is expected to generate around $56 million in revenue for owners Atlas Maritime and European Maritime Finance over its initial term.

The entry comes as Chinese vehicle exports surge. China shipped 5.096 million vehicles overseas during the first half of 2026, up 65.3% year-on-year. New energy vehicle exports more than doubled to 2.355 million units.

For Malta, a transshipment hub and a market heavily reliant on vehicle imports, this new service represents additional capacity on the Mediterranean leg. More competition in the car carrier segment could put downward pressure on freight rates, a development that would benefit Maltese importers and dealers.

The Mediterranean ports of call also signal growing demand for EV handling infrastructure in the region. Gioia Tauro and Barcelona are positioning themselves as gateways for Chinese automotive exports into southern Europe and North Africa.