Deltamarin has signed an agreement with China Merchants Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. for the design and engineering of a new series of Höegh Autoliners Aurora-class Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs) with LNG fuel capability.
Deltamarin, based in Turku in Finland, provides ship design, offshore engineering and construction as well as consulting and has recently completed the conceptual design of the ships for Höegh Autoliners.
“The Aurora class ships will be the world’s largest and most environmentally friendly car carriers ever built,” stated Deltamarin.
“The engineering contract signed with the builder, CMI Jiangsu shipyard, is a direct continuation of the work and includes complete basic and detail design of the vessels,” the firm added.
The ships will be powered by LNG and marine gas oil (MGO) and will be prepared for operating any zero-carbon fuels that eventually become widely available.
Several other features are also included in the design to minimise the environmental footprint of the ships.
“The project has combined economy of scale with optimised and future-proofed ship concept results with the lowest greenhouse-gas footprint per transported car in the industry,” stated Deltamarin.
The new vessels will be built by the China Merchants Industry shipyard in Haimen, a district of Nantong in Jiangsu province.
China Merchants Group has been expanding its shipbuilding business over the past few years and is now within the three largest shipbuilding groups in China.
