Deltamarin has signed an agreement with China Merchants Industry  for the design and engineering of the new series of Höegh Autoliners Aurora Class Pure Car & Truck Carriers .

Deltamarin has recently the completed conceptual design of the ships for Höegh Autoliners. The engineering contract signed with the builder, CMI Jiangsu shipyard, is a direct continuation of the work and includes complete basic and detail design of the vessels.

The Aurora class ships will be the world’s largest and most environmentally friendly car carriers ever built. The ships will be powered by marine gas oil (MGO) and LNG and prepared with readiness for operation on zero carbon fuels such as ammonia or methanol once these become more widely available. Several other features are also included in the design to minimise the environmental footprint of the ships. Combining economy of scale with optimised and future-proofed ship concept results in the lowest greenhouse gas footprint per transported car in the industry, and a clear path to zero-emission operation.

The new vessels will be built by China Merchants Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. shipyard in Haimen. China Merchants Group has been expanding its shipbuilding business over the past years and is now within the three largest shipbuilding groups in China.

Janne Uotila, the CEO of Deltamarin says, “We at Deltamarin are very pleased with the contract for two main reasons. Firstly, we are proud that Höegh Autoliners trusts our ability to support them in renewing their fleet and enabling their path towards zero emission operations. Secondly, we look forward to further developing the cooperation with CMI Jiangsu shipyard, providing them with engineering services and supporting them in the execution of this industry-leading newbuild programme of Höegh Autoliners.”

Mei Zhonghua, General Manager of CMI Jiangsu shipyard comments, “We look forward to working together with Deltamarin to provide Höegh Autoliners with these state-of-the art ships.”

Andreas Enger, the CEO of Höegh Autoliners continues, “We are excited to partner with Deltamarin and China Merchants Industry to secure the delivery of the world’s largest and most environmentally friendly PCTC vessels already by 2024. The zero carbon ready Aurora class represents the future of our business and together with our trusted partners, we will make a significant contribution to a more sustainable maritime industry.”

The work will be carried out at Deltamarin’s offices in Finland, Poland and China and will have a significant impact on Deltamarin Group’s workload. The project will start immediately and continue until the delivery of the first vessel in the second half of 2024.