Höegh Autoliners Orders up to 12 LNG-Fuelled Ammonia-Ready Car Carriers

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday January 21, 2022

Shipping firm Höegh Autoliners has put in an order for up to 12 LNG-fuelled pure car and truck carriers suitable for retrofit to ammonia or methanol propulsion.

The firm has ordered two ships for delivery in the second half of 2024 and another two for the first half of 2025, with options for eight more of the vessels, it said in a statement on its website on Thursday. The vessels will be built by China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Ltd

As well as being able to run on LNG or MGO from delivery, the new Aurora-class ships will all have the ammonia-ready and methanol-ready notations from classification society DNV. The company plans for this class of vessel to be the first in the pure car and truck carrier segment to run on green ammonia.

The future-fuel-ready notations tend to mean the vessels have been designed with sufficient space on board for the larger storage tanks needed for lower-density fuels, should they be retrofitted to run on ammonia or methanol at a later date.

"The collaboration with China Merchants Industry represents a breakthrough in reaching our ambitious net zero emissions target by 2040," Leif O. Høegh, chair of Höegh Autoliners, said in the statement.

"The innovative design of the zero carbon ready Aurora class will enable our customers to decarbonise their supply chain.

"Together with CMHI we are leading the way towards a net zero emissions future for our industry."