United European Car Carriers (UECC) is expanding its fleet with an additional car carrier, Auto Way
UECC’s joint owner Wallenius Lines recently acquired the 2006-built Höegh Chiba from Höegh Autoliners. Now renamed, the vessel has been fixed on a long-term charter with UECC for deployment on its North-South trade route, effective the end of October 2024.
“UECC has been successful in attracting new contractual volumes from both existing and new customers that has resulted in an increased capacity requirement on this route,” said UECC chief operating officer Per Christian Mørk.
Auto Way, with a capacity of 6,000 ceo, was chosen due to the flexibility of its deck configuration and its ability to transport breakbulk cargoes as well as a range of rolling high and heavy equipment.
The ports of Cuxhaven, Germany and Efesan, Turkey will be added to the North-South route – the largest trading loop operated by UECC. Four ships currently work on an eight-day sailing frequency covering eight ports in Germany, Belgium, the UK, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Mørk added that the company aims to operate Auto Way with a significant proportion of biofuels, as is the case with other vessels in its fleet, as it seeks to minimise environmental impact and mitigate cost exposure by cutting their Scope 3 emissions amid new green regulations, notably the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and FuelEU Maritime.
