United European Car Carriers, jointly owned by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and Wallenius Lines, has signed a contract to construct two LR classed dual-fuel LNG pure car and truck carriers.

The contract has been signed with Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and the vessels will be constructed at the NACKS shipyard in Nantong, China, which is a joint venture between KHI and China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company. Deliveries of both the vessels will be in the second half of 2016.

The vessels will be 181 metres long with a 30 metre beam. Both the vessels will have 1A super Finnish/ Swedish ice class, facilitating year round trading in the Baltic area. Approximately 3,800 standard sized cars spread over 10 decks will be able to be transported. A significant part of the cargo capacity can also be used to transport high and heavy cargo and any other cargo loaded on to mafi trailers. The deck configuration is optimised for both present and predicted future cargo mixes.

The vessels are capable of operating with LNG fuel or heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil, providing greater flexibility and efficiency. They are the first PCTCs of their kind to be fitted with an LNG fuel propulsion system, and can complete a 14-day round voyage in the Baltic using solely LNG fuel, including main engine and auxiliary power generation.

Source: Lloyd’s Register