Car Capacity News

Norwegian shipyard Myklebust Verft has been selected to build a pair of innovative hydrogen-powered passenger ferries ordered by Norwegian transport company Torghatten Nord.The design, produced by The Norwegian Ship Design Company for operations in the challenging waters of the Vestfjordstrekninga fjord in the Arctic Circle, received approval in principle (AIP) in August 2022 from Lloyd's Register, who has signed on to class the first-of-their-kind vessels.At 117 meters long with a 120-car capacity…

Chevron Marine Lubricants said it made its first delivery of a 40 BN Category II lube oil on August 30, in a breakthrough moment for operators of MAN ES Mk9 and above two-stroke engines, when it supplied a stem of its new Taro Ultra Advanced 40 to SIEM Car Carriers.“We are very pleased that Taro Ultra Advanced 40 is now available to our customers and that we have successfully made the first delivery,” said Pat McCloud, General Manager, Chevron Global Marine Lubricants. “From September, it will be available at major ports across Europe and Asia Pacific, including Singapore and Rotterdam.

NYK signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the consecutive building of LNG-fueled PCTCs at Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co., Ltd. and Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. Twelve new ships are planned to be built, six ships each at the two shipyards, for delivery successively from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2028.The dozen ship is in accordance with the PCTC fleet replacement plan to achieve NYK’s environment management target, which is to reduce CO2 emissions per ton-kilometer of transport by 50% by 2050.

The 186-meter Visentini RoPax vessel Stena Livia will initially join sister vessel Stena Flavia on the Nynäshamn-Ventspils route from mid-April, Stena Line announced. Later this year the pair will replace the existing tonnage on the ferry route between Travemünde and Liepaja, adding 40% freight capacity and shorten the crossing time substantially.During 2021 Stena Line is expanding its Baltic Sea operations with modern and large RoPax vessels being added to the two ferry routes from Latvia to Sweden and Germany.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen said Wednesday it plans to build the world`s first full-scale wind-powered RoRo vessel - the Orcelle Wind - in what the company said was its "most ambitious sustainability initiative to date."According to Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the Orcelle Wind – a wind-powered Pure Car and Truck Carrier - will achieve up to 90% reduced emissions compared to "today’s best vessels.""Our goal is to have a design ready for contracting with a shipyard by mid-2022, and a finished vessel ready for the high seas by 2025…

NYK has concluded a shipbuilding contract with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Nanjing) Co. Ltd. for four LNG-fueled PCTCs to be delivered from 2022 to 2023, intended to transport vehicles mainly to/from Europe and/or to the Middle East.The ships are designed with GHG emission reduction, and to that end they will be outfieed with WinGD’s X-DF2.0 iCER main engine, the first time they will be utilized in the world. According to NYK, the engine consumes less gas and reduces GHG by cutting methane emissions from exhaust gas by approximately 50%.

NYK has placed an order for the world largest pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) capable of navigating oceans with only LNG as the main fuel. A keel laying ceremony was held on September 20 at Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., and NYK managing corporate officer Takaya Soga and other related parties were in attendance. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in 2020 and will be the first large LNG-fueled PCTC to be built in Japan.To minimize a reduction in vehicle loading capacity caused by the installation of LNG fuel tanks…

Copenhagen headquartered ferry and logistics company DFDS has reached an agreement with the Italian ferry company Moby to acquire its the two combined freight and passenger ferries (RoPax).The Danish company decided to purchase the ships, the 2001-built Moby Wonder and the 2005-built Moby Aki, in order to expand capacity on the Amsterdam-Newcastle route.Moby will in turn acquire the two passenger ferries currently operating on Amsterdam-Newcastle — King Seaways and Princess Seaways, built in 1987 and 1986, respectively.“The new ferries are ideally suited for our Amsterdam-Newcastle route. Their modern onboard facilities and higher car-deck capacity will allow us to grow revenue by fulfilling the growing demand from high-yield car passengers.

Incat delivered its latest large fast ferry, a 110-meter catamaran for Virtu Ferries of Malta dubbed Saint John Paul II.Saint John Paul II is the 44th large commercial fast ferry delivered by Incat and the sixth in excess of 5,500gt in the past decade; a decade also shared with 19 other Incat newbuilds of smaller passenger ferries and support vessels.“Using the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and hydrodynamic free-running model test techniques, the well proven Incat Wave Piercing Catamaran hullform has been further developed for Mediterranean winter conditions…

The 6,400 standard passenger car capacity, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL)-operated car carrier Grand Orion has made a first call for such a vessel type in Cambodia.The Japanese shipping company said in a release that the car carrier called at the Port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, and discharged about 12,000 tons of construction machinery. It was the first call at a Cambodian port by an MOL-operated car carrier, it added.In commemoration of the first call, Grand Orion Capt. Denis C. De la Peña received a memento from Sihanoukville Autonomous Port while the ship was in port.Most of the cars imported to Cambodia, both brand-new and second-hand, are currently carried in ocean containers or by car trailers…

Shipbuilder Incat has launched the 110m vehicle / passenger ferry from the shipyard at Derwent Park in Hobart Tasmania. The ship will commence sea trials in mid January prior to delivery to her new owner Virtu Ferries for service between Malta and Sicily.Bearing the livery Saint John Paul II the vessel has been named in honor of the Pope who served from 1978 to 2005, so revered the Pope has often posthumously, but unofficially, been referred to by Catholics as "St. John Paul the Great".

Atlantic Container Line (ACL) held a christening ceremony for its new G4 vessel, the Atlantic Sun, on Wednesday, at FAPS Port Newark Auto Marine Terminal at the Port of New York & New Jersey. The ACL G4 vessels are the first of their kind and the largest multipurpose RoRo/Containerships ever built. They incorporate an innovative design that increases capacity without significantly changing the dimensions of the vessel. The G4s are bigger, greener and more efficient than their predecessors.

Diverse Newbuild & Repair Business Buoys 2018The year 2018 is off to good start at Vigor. The Harbor Island facility welcomed a new drydock christened the Evolution. The $20 million Evolution is the third drydock at Vigor’s Seattle facility and largest in the Puget Sound region, measuring 640 x 115.5 ft. with a lift capacity of 22,000 LT.Other investments in Seattle include a buildout of a dedicated aluminum production facility which greatly expands Vigor’s fabrication capabilities and capacity for workboats…

In October the world’s ferry operators gathered in Split Croatia for the Forty Second Annual Interferry Conference. The 470 or so delegates represented 210 operators and support companies from 27 countries. A trade show included firms from around the world including shipbuilders, naval architects, equipment suppliers, training and others of the diverse group that make up the ferry industry. In a panel on Mediterranean Ferries, Philippe Holthof, of the Belgian-based Shipax explained the huge size and complexity of the fleet.

The Ferry Company Læsø wants to examine the need for a new ferry between Læsø and Frederikshavn and puts the project in the hands of OSK-ShipTech A/S. Danish company OSK-ShipTech A/S said it will lead a project examining the potential purchase and construction of a completely new ferry sailing between Læsø and Frederikshavn in Denmark. OSK-ShipTech A/S signed a contract to do the preliminary examinations for The Ferry Company Læsø. “We’re happy that The Ferry Company Læsø chose us for the contract.

Since it started publishing in 1939, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News has recognized excellence in ship construction. United European Car Carriers (UECC), which is jointly owned by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Wallenius Lines, held a naming ceremony for the M/V Auto Eco, a s historic ship in that it is the first of two dual fuel LNG PCTCs with 1A Super Finnish/Swedish ice class. The world’s first dual fuel LNG PCTC M/V Auto Eco had her formal naming ceremony at the Port of Zeebrugge, Belgium on November 21, 2016.

Incat has been selected by Virtu Ferries of Malta to design and build a 110 meter vehicle passenger RoPax ferry. The new wave piercing catamaran will become the 15th fast ferry Virtu has acquired, it will be the largest high speed catamaran in the Mediterranean and with a service speed up to 38 knots it will complete the crossing from Malta to Sicily, berth to berth, in around 90 minutes. “Virtu Ferries is amongst the oldest, most respected and most discerning fast ferry operators in the world…

United European Car Carriers (UECC), which is equally owned by NYK and Wallenius Lines, took delivery of the world’s first LNG-fueled  Pure Car and Truck Carrier  from Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. on September 29 at the NACKS shipyard in Nantong, China. The vessel  will be named “Auto Eco” when reaching North Europe towards the end of November, and it is the first of two sister vessels to be delivered. These new, unique vessels are equipped with dual-fuel engines that can use either liquefied natural gas (LNG) or heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil. These vessels will be put into service in Europe, where strict sulphur emission regulations have been introduced.

The M/S Texelstroom is more energy efficient, cleaner and more sustainable than her predecessors. CNG-electric hybrid ferry Texelstroom features some of the latest technological developments and innovation, such as a T-shaped beam which ensures a 14 percent car capacity improvement and a CNG/Diesel Hybrid propulsion which make the ship more cost-efficient and thus more environmentally friendly, says C-Job Naval Architects, who is responsible for the vessel’s complete initial, concept and basic design. Other innovations include solar panels, peak shaving batteries and heat recovery. At 135 meters long and 28 meters wide, the new ship is 5 meters taller and wider than her predecessors, C-Job said, though the new Texelstroom is still able to dock in the same port as the Dokter Wagenmaker.

Ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin has been chosen by Norwegian Car Carriers AS (NOCC) as the supplier of choice for its two newbuild vessels currently under construction at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea. Optimarin will provide 667m³/h capacity systems for the state-of-the-art 6500 car capacity Pure Car Truck Carrier (PCTC) sister ships, which are scheduled for delivery in late 2016 and early 2017. Optimarin CEO Tore Andersen says his firm’s established track record, in what is still a young industry, played a key role in securing this latest contract. “We’ve been exclusively focused on producing simple, reliable and flexible BWT solutions since our formation in 1994,” Andersen comments.

Oslo-listed Norwegian Car Carriers (NOCC) has signed a contract with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for the construction of two 6500 ceu Pure Car Truck Carrier (OCTCs). Delivery from the South Korean shipyard is scheduled for between the fourth quarter 2016 and first quarter 2017, and there is an option included for two additional vessels. NOCC’s strategy is to grow its business as a tonnage provider serving the global car carrier operators, says a company statement. The company currently has 10 car carriers in its fleet ranging between 4,000-7,000 ceu. The specification for the 6 500 car capacity PCTC is based on the Hyundai built NOCC Oceanic with improvements and upgrades.

NYK says it has taken delivery of the new high-tech pure car carrier (PCC), 'Aries Leader', built by Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co. Ltd. With a capacity of 7,000 units, the new carrier includes the latest energy-saving technology including a hull air-lubrication system and a hybrid turbocharger — both of which, says NYK have been installed on a car carrier for the first time — in addition to an electronically controlled engine and the use of water-emulsified boiler fuel. NYK adds that the hulls of its pure car carriers have traditionally been painted aurora blue, but this ship has been painted green to signify its status clearly as an environmental flagship.

Birkenhead shipyard and engineering services company Cammell Laird said it has developed an advanced shipyard environmental package for ferries, following its strongest year of trading in the sector. Cammell Laird said it has docked 24 ferries between 2013 and the beginning of 2014 and, in addition, has carried out a further 24 afloat repairs for ferry operators. During 2013 Cammell Laird repaired, built and converted almost 250,000 gross tons of ferry and Ro-Ro ships for a wide range of owners. Already in 2014 it has docked and repaired ferries of 150,000 gross tons.