United European Car Carriers (UECC) has taken delivery of its latest dual-fuel LNG newbuild, Blue Aspire, which will be deployed on the ro-ro line’s European North-South trading network from mid-December.
The 200 m-long PCTC, delivered from CIMC Raffles Offshore Engineering, has capacity for nearly 7000 vehicles on 12 cargo decks (including four hoistable decks suitable for high and heavy cargoes), with a stern ramp capability of 250 tons. UECC will operate the vessel together with another five vessels on a route between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, traversing the Turkish ports of Yenikoy and Autoport, the German port of Cuxhaven, and Zeebrugge, Belgium every 4.5 days
“Deployment of the Blue Aspire will boost tremendously capacity and sailing frequency on this busy trade route, currently serviced by five vessels, while further enhancing the sustainability of the UECC fleet,” said the company’s chief operating officer Per Christian Mørk.
Mørk added that sustainability is now a key priority in procurement of maritime transport services to meet the environmental goals of vehicle manufacturers amid new green regulations - including FuelEU Maritime and the EU ETS - that provide a commercial incentive to reduce the cost of GHG emissions. He pointed out that, while LNG can reduce emissions by around 25 percent compared with conventional fossil fuels, there is potential to greatly enhance environmental performance on LNG-fuelled vessels like Blue Aspire by switching to liquefied biomethane (LBM) that offers net-zero potential.
HLPFI reported that UECC is now increasing application of the latter fuel on its dual-fuel LNG PCTCs after recently securing a supply agreement with Titan Clean Fuels.
