World's largest car carrier sets off on maiden voyage from Chinese port

China's self-developed car carrier BYD Shenzhen, the largest of its kind in the world, set off on its maiden voyage with more than 7,000 BYD new energy vehicles (NEVs) on Sunday evening, according to the Shenzhen-based carmaker BYD.

It set sail from Taicang Port in east China's Jiangsu Province and is expected to reach Itajai Port in Brazil after more than 30 days at sea.

Built by a shipyard under China Merchants Group, the BYD Shenzhen is an NEV carrier with 9,200 standard spaces, and is BYD's fourth specialized vessel for transporting NEVs. The previous three vessels were also independently built in China.

The 219-meter-long, 37.7-meter-wide BYD Shenzhen was delivered on April 22 in the city of Yizheng in Jiangsu. The ship features cutting-edge green technologies, such as high-efficiency, energy-saving main engines and a Boil-Off Gas (BOG) recondenser, and antifouling, drag-reducing coatings.