UECC adds second LNG battery hybrid vehicle carrier to its fleet
United European Car Carriers (UECC), the Norwegian shipping specialist in moving rolling freight, primarily cars, is moving further in decarbonising its operations. It has added the second sustainable pure car and truck carrier to its fleet, which is powered from LNG, batteries and conventional maritime fuel. The shipping line will receive the third hybrid ship later this year.
In half a year after launching its first hybrid vehicle carrier, named Auto Advance, UECC has added the second vessel of the same type to its fleet. The Auto Achieve pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) will be deployed on the European shortsea shipping lines. Being designed as a multi-fuel ship, it is powered by multi-fuel LNG engines, which are used for main propulsion, and batteries, which are extremely efficient for port calls. Such a unique combination was developed by UECC together with DNV and Jiangnan’s in-house ship designer Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute.
Focus on sustainability
Later this year, UECC will receive the third and final PCTC with the multi-fuel propulsion. As a result, the company’s fleet will mainly consist of sustainable vessels. Five of nine PCTCs will be hybrid and they will provide 80 per cent of UECC’s total lifting capacity, which meets the IMO target to cut carbon intensity by 40 per cent within 2030. Besides the hybrid multi-fuel PCTCs, the Norwegian shipping line operates two dual-fuel LNG vessels, Auto Eco and Auto Energy, which were built in 2016.
Hybrid technology
“The addition of hybrid technology marks another step in sustainability as battery power can further reduce emissions through peak shaving, in addition to handling partial accommodation load and driving auxiliary equipment, while boosting operating efficiency,” UECC stated. According to the Norwegian shortsea shipping line, multi-fuel engines reduce the carbon emissions by around 25 per cent, the sulphur oxides (SOx) emissions by 90 per cent and the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by 85 per cent from the use of LNG. They can be also adapted for other low-carbon fuels such as bio-LNG and synthetic fuels.