According to industry sources, Ray Car Carriers, a shipping company that has long concentrated its newbuilding orders with Korean shipyards, has made a strategic shift by turning to China for the first time and is in advanced negotiations for a major order of pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) worth approximately US$1 billion. The company, controlled by Abraham (Rami) Ungar, has broken with its tradition of more than two decades of placing orders exclusively with South Korea's HD Hyundai Group.

As reported by TradeWinds, Ray Car Carriers is in talks with Guangzhou International Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for a series of newbuildings of ultra-large post-Panamax PCTCs. The vessels will be LNG dual-fuel powered, with a design capacity of 8,600 car equivalent units (CEUs), and the order is expected to comprise between 10 and 14 units, though the final number has yet to be confirmed.

According to shipbuilding industry insiders, the negotiations are "basically finalized," and the signing of the contracts is only a matter of time. Brokers attribute the shift away from HD Hyundai mainly to the Korean shipbuilder's limited interest in additional PCTC orders and its full orderbook slots. At the same time, Ray Car Carriers' vessels in this order are all backed by long-term charters, aiming to match anticipated charter income with more competitive pricing from Chinese shipyards. Estimates suggest that the construction cost for an 8,600-CEU LNG dual-fuel PCTC in China is around US$110 million, while Korean shipyards quote over US$130 million.

According to Clarksons data, Ray Car Carriers currently operates a fleet of 66 car carriers, with another seven LNG dual-fuel PCTCs under construction at HD Hyundai, including five of 7,600 CEUs (ordered in 2023–2024) and two of 7,300 CEUs (contracted in April this year), scheduled for delivery between October 2026 and November 2028.