Höegh Autoliners Opts for Four More Aurora Class Car Carriers

Norwegian shipping company Höegh Autoliners announced on Monday that it has exercised its option to construct four additional multi-fuel and net zero carbon ready Aurora class car carrier vessels at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd (CMHI) in Haimen.

This brings the number of total vessels under the newbuilding program to 12 vessels, all of which will be built by CMHI. Höegh Autoliners has an option to build another four vessels (vessels 13-16), as well as slot reservations for additional four vessels (vessels 17-20). The first vessel of the series is scheduled to be delivered in July 2024.

Designed by Deltamarin, the Aurora class vessels are described as the world’s largest and most environmentally friendly pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) ever built. The ships will be powered multi-fuel engines from MAN Energy Solutions that can run on marine gas oil (MGO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and prepared with readiness for operation on zero carbon fuels such as ammonia or methanol once these become more widely available. Höegh Autoliners noted it has the option to convert one or more of the newbuilds to ammonia propulsion when the technology becomes available.

According to Höegh Autoliners, the Aurora-class vessels have attracted significant interest from credit providers, and the company said it will finance the newbuilds by a combination of equity (cash) from own operation and debt. Höegh Autoliners said it is actively exploring various financing alternatives and anticipates having committed financing in place before year end.