BYD Explorer 1 Docks at Port of Suape with Record Shipment of 5,500 Vehicles

The BYD Explorer 1, a ship commissioned by the Chinese company to exclusively transport its vehicles worldwide, docked at the port of Suape in Pernambuco on Monday, May 27. This marks the vessel’s first trip to Brazil and its second voyage overall. The vessel arrived with a record shipment of 5,500 cars, including the Dolphin Mini, Seal, and the new Song Pro and King plug-in hybrids, which will soon be available in the Brazilian market.

The journey from the port of Lianyun, China, to Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Pernambuco, took 27 days, with stops in Singapore and South Africa. After unloading the vehicles, the largest shipment of cars in Suape’s history, the Explorer 1 will return to China empty. Logistics manager Leonardo Felippe noted, “The idea is not to always return empty, but this time there was no other way.”

BYD is accelerating its vehicle imports ahead of a scheduled increase in import taxes for hybrids and electric vehicles in July. The company aims to bring 100,000 units by the end of the year through the ports of Suape, Itapoá in Santa Catarina, and Vila Velha in Espírito Santo, utilizing various cargo ships in addition to the Explorer 1.

The company has sold 25,500 vehicles this year, a 43% increase compared to last year.

The ship

The Explorer 1, measuring 199 meters in length and 90 meters in width, can transport up to 7,000 vehicles depending on their size. For this trip, it was loaded to full capacity due to the dimensions of the cars, according to Felippe. The ship is a roll-on-roll-off vessel, commonly used for transporting vehicles as they can be driven on and off the ship.

In Brazil, the BYD ship can only dock in Suape, Santos in São Paulo, Paranaguá in Paraná, and Itajaí in Santa Catarina due to its size. The vessel’s engines are powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), and its crew consists of 23 people from Bulgaria, India, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania, as stated by Captain Nenko Nenkov.

Typically, the ship takes around two days to be loaded and two to three days to be unloaded. “It depends on how many people work in the operation and the port where it is docked,” Nenkov explained.

This was the ship’s second voyage since its debut in January when it landed in Europe.

Port of Suape

The vehicles arriving at Suape will primarily be distributed to the Northeast and North regions of Brazil. Last year, the port handled 80,000 vehicles, including imports, exports, and transshipments.

“Until April, we moved 25,300 units, most of which were Stellantis exports, still the largest operation,” said Márcio Guiot, CEO of the port of Suape. “Today we have 73% of volumes for export and 18% for import, but with the start of BYD the tendency is for imports to grow.”

Seven vehicle manufacturers already operate in the Pernambuco port: Stellantis, BYD, Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors, Renault, and Nissan, in addition to transshipment operations for other brands.

Source: Autodata

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