Volkswagen Group has recently started using the second LNG-powered car carrier it chartered from Siem as it looks to decarbonize its operations.
The Siem Aristotle left Germany’s Emden last month and some three weeks later it arrived in the US Port of Davisville, Rhode Island. Before Davisville, the vessel stopped at the Canadian Port of Halifax, its AIS and port data shows.
In addition to its visit to Davisville, the ship should make a stop in Mexico’s Veracruz in advance of its return route to Emden.
Worth mentioning here, prior to arriving in Germany, Siem Aristotle in October received LNG fuel from the Petronas-chartered Avenir Advantage. This marked the first STS LNG bunkering operation in Malaysia.
The vessel was on its way from China’s Xiamen Shipbuilding where its sister ship Siem Confucius was also built.
To remind, Volkswagen sent the first LNG-powered car carrier on its maiden voyage in June last year.
The German giant will use both of the ships on the trans-Atlantic route, so-called America Round Tour, from Emden to Mexico.
The vessels feature 13 car decks and the capacity to carry up to 4,800 Volkswagen vehicles at a time.
Additionally, the ships have a 12,600-kilowatt dual-fuel engine from MAN Energy Solutions and two 1,800-cbm LNG tanks, each.
With these two vessels, Volkswagen became the first automaker to use LNG-powered ships in long-distance overseas distribution of cars and light vehicles.