Norwegian shipping firm UECC has taken delivery of the third and final LNG-powered hybrid PCTC from China’s Jiangnan Shipyard.
Jiangnan handed over the LNG and battery-powered PCTC, Auto Aspire, on October 20.
According to Jiangnan, the vessel will set sail towards Europe by the end of this month.
This newbuild follows the delivery of Auto Advance in November last year. UECC claims this is the world’s first LNG-powered hybrid PCTC.
The Norway-based joint venture consisting of NYK and Wallenius Lines took delivery of the second vessel, Auto Achieve, in June.
With an overall length of 169 meters and a width of 28 meters, the three ships each have a car carrying capacity of 3,600 units on 10 cargo decks.
UECC says the LNG battery technology, together with an optimized hull design for better fuel efficiency, would enable these newbuilds to exceed the IMO requirement to cut carbon intensity by 40 percent from 2008 levels within 2030.
Also, the new vessels boosted the UECC dual-fuel fleet to five ships in total as it already operates two LNG-powered PCTCs but these do not feature battery power.