Höegh Autoliners invests US$2.5Bn on 12 LNG- and ammonia-fuelled newbuilds

Höegh Autoliners has a series of newbuild pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessels being constructed in China with dual-fuel engines which will be able to burn green fuels in the future. In total, 12 Aurora-class vessels were ordered from China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu), with options for another four, all to be DNV classed and Norway flagged, with the first eight equipped with engines primed to run on LNG and low-sulphur fuel oil.

The first, Hoegh Aurora, was delivered in Q2 2024 and entered into commercial operations in August 2024. According to Höegh Autoliners chief executive, Andreas Enger, the final four of the fixed shipyard contract will be delivered able to run on ammonia.

“We are spending US$2.5Bn on fleet renewal,” he said. “We are starting with dual-fuel LNG and can transition to green ammonia in the future.”

The initial eight Aurora-class ships will be able to transition to green ammonia, while the final four newbuilds will have MAN Energy Solutions two-stroke engines able to burn ammonia when delivered in 2027 onwards.

Aurora-class ships are the first in the PCTC segment to receive DNV’s ammonia-ready and methanol-ready notations. Capable of carrying up to 9,100 CEU, they could cut carbon emissions per car transported by 58% compared with the current industry standard. 

Mr Enger explained why the Oslo-headquartered owner chose to begin with LNG fuel and consider ammonia in the future. “There are no ammonia combustion engines available until 2027,” he said. “The objective is to go for green ships, so our pathway is LNG now and then switch to blue ammonia and then to green ammonia.”

Mr Enger did not think other options, such as installing carbon capture and storage on these ships, were viable for PCTC vessels.