Norwegian ro-ro operator Hoegh Autoliners has announced that it has signed a five-year transportation contract with an unnamed “large” international automaker to transport electric vehicles from the United States and Mexico to the Middle East.
Hoegh Autoliners has not provided any further details about the deal at this time, but Andreas Enger, the company’s chief executive, said it was one of the company’s most important customers.
Earlier this year, Hoegh Autoliners has reached an agreement with a major East Asian automaker to deliver to Europe by the end of 2028.
Hoegh Autoliners is said to operate around 40 ro-ro vessels in the global trade and is committed to developing greener and more sustainable solutions for deep sea transportation. To date, Hoegh Autoliners has placed an order with China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) for 12 9,100 CEU dual-fuel Aurora Class PCTCs, with the first vessel entering the sea trial stage and scheduled for delivery in July 2024. The parties have four PCTCs of the same type remaining to be effected, with deliveries scheduled for 2026 and 2027 if the owner exercises its option.
Designed by Deltamarin, the Aurora Class PCTC has a capacity of 9,100 CEU and, in addition to being able to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and conventional fuels, it also has the DNV ‘ammonia and methanol ready’ class notation. This means that the PCTC is equipped with multi-fuel engines that can be modified in the future to run on zero-carbon fuels such as ammonia or methanol. The Aurora class PCTC will be the first ship in the car transportation sector to be able to use carbon-neutral ammonia. The series will also be the world’s largest and most eco-friendly car carrier.
Last week, Höegh Autoliners has secured NOK 109.4 million in funding from Norwegian state-owned enterprise Enova for the ammonia-powered conversion of four Aurora class PCTCs.