The newbuild order placed with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing is for two firm multi-fuel battery hybrid vessels, each with a caapcity of 3000 CEU, UECC said in a statement on Tuesday.
China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing will deliver the new vessels early in 2028.
UECC did not provide the price tag of the new order.
It already has on order two larger 4500 CEU units at the Chinese yard with similar specifications that are due for delivery in 2028.
The latest newbuildings, developed in close cooperation with Shanghai Ship Research & Design Institute (SDARI), will incorporate multi-fuel LNG-driven engines with propulsion technologies to optimize energy efficiency and an aerodynamic hull design to minimize fuel consumption.
In addition, the vessels will also have shore power capability.
The vessels will incorporate nine decks with a quarter stern ramp capacity of 160 tons and LOA of 169.5m, giving the PCTCs flexibility to handle a range of vehicles, high & heavy (H&H) and other rolling cargoes on UECC’s European short sea shipping liner network where they will be deployed.
With four newbuilds now on order, UECC will ultimately have a total of nine dual-fuel LNG and multi-fuel battery hybrid PCTCs, delivered from 2016 onwards.
In October 2022, UECC took delivery of the third and final LNG-powered hybrid PCTC from China’s Jiangnan Shipyard.
With an overall length of 169 meters and a width of 28 meters, Auto Advance, Auto Achieve, and Auto Aspire each have a car carrying capacity of 3,600 units on 10 cargo decks.
The new vessels boosted the UECC dual-fuel fleet to five ships in total, as it already operated two LNG-powered PCTCs, Auto Eco and Auto Energy, but these do not feature battery power.
