VESSEL REVIEW | Hoegh Aurora – First in new series of ammonia-ready car carriers for Norwegian owner

Norwegian shipping company Höegh Autoliners has taken delivery of a new pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) fitted with environment-friendly technologies. Höegh Aurora is the first in the 12-strong Aurora-class designed for the transport of rolling cargo such as up to 9,100 cars, agricultural machinery, and mining equipment as well as general solo cargo.

Numerous emissions-reducing features

The newbuild has an LOA of 199.92 metres (655.91 feet), a beam of 37.62 metres (123.4 feet), a draught of 10.8 metres (35.4 feet), a depth of 14.52 metres (47.64 metres), and a deadweight tonnage of 25,563. According to the owner, these dimensions make the Aurora-class PCTCs the largest car carriers ever built.

The freight will be carried on 14 decks including five liftable decks. All decks have been laid out to also house electric vehicles, and these are also strengthened to allow transport of heavier project cargo if needed.

Also fitted are solar panels covering an area of 1,500 square metres ( square feet) on the top deck to reduce reliance on the generators for the onboard electrical power requirements. The use of solar panels was dictated partly by the fact that there is abundant sunlight on many of the routes served by Höegh Autoliners. The vessel’s design meanwhile allows for the future installation of a shore power connection to ensure emissions-free electrical supply while berthed.

Höegh Aurora and seven other PCTCs in the Aurora-class will run on LNG and low-sulphur MGO, though the vessels' dual-fuel engines are designed to be converted to also run on ammonia in the future. These eight vessels also have DNV's ammonia and methanol ready notation, with the main engine on each ship provided by MAN and the propeller and the bridge management system supplied by Kongsberg. The current propulsion arrangement delivers a service speed of 14.5 knots.

Real-time monitoring of vessel conditions for improved voyage planning

Höegh Autoliners said that, even with the current use of LNG as its primary fuel, the vessel already achieves a carbon intensity indicator (CII) 58 per cent lower than that of a standard 6,500CEU PCTC. The ship is also capable of generating nearly zero emissions of sulphur while those of particulate matter and NOx are reduced by as much as 90 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, compared to similar vessels.

Kongsberg Digital supplied the vessel’s cloud infrastructure. The system captures data from any source on board and translates these into clear, usable data sets that are easily accessible through applications. The generated data sets will enable Höegh Autoliners to perform important functions such as determining ideal routes to minimise fuel consumption, identifying potential maintenance issues to prevent lengthy downtimes, and reporting regulatory requirements automatically.

Construction of the Aurora-class ships is being undertaken at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) in fulfilment of a contract originally awarded in early 2022. Design work on the vessels was provided by Finnish naval architecture firm Deltamarin.