The world’s largest and most environmentally friendly car carrier calls the Port of Hamburg
Two weeks after signing the Hamburg Declaration on the Decarbonisation of Global Shipping, Höegh Aurora, the world’s largest and most environmentally friendly car carrier ever built, will arrive in the very same city, celebrating the joint commitment to establish green shipping corridors that utilize sustainable green fuels while swiftly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental impact of the global shipping.
The Höegh Aurora is the very first of Höegh Autoliners 12 Aurora Class vessels. Two of them, the Höegh Aurora and the Höegh Borealis are already in commercial operations, while the remaining 10 of these marvels of modern engineering and deep-sea transportation will be built and delivered by the first half of 2028.
Already operating the world’s most sustainable pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) fleet sailing the oceans today, Höegh Autoliners’ green fleet renewal program confirms the company’s mission to lead the industry to net zero by 2040. Today, shipping accounts for around 3 percent of all global emissions. 940 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. 90% of shipping emissions come from deep-sea transportation. That needs to change, and Höegh Autoliners is leading that change with Aurora Class. The vessels will be cutting carbon emissions per car transported by up to 58 percent from the current industry average, representing the future of the shipping industry.
The Höegh Aurora has a capacity of up to 9,100 cars – and with strengthened decks and enhanced internal ramp systems, she can carry Electric Vehicles on all 14 decks. The 1500 square meters of solar panels on the top deck reduces electricity production from the generators by up to 30-35 percent. She is also primed to embrace electric shore power for emissions-free port operations.
After initially having bunkered LNG in Shanghai, the Höegh Aurora loaded cargo in Japan and South Korea before heading to Europe, calling ports in Belgium, France, UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands before Hamburg and Germany. In Germany’s biggest and the third largest port in Europe, Höegh Autoliners will host a grand event for hundreds of the company’s customers and partners, celebrating the monumental leap towards sustainable deep-sea shipping, the Höegh Aurora is.
The Höegh Aurora and the rest of the Aurora class are equipped with the newest and most modern maritime technology, including state-of-the-art safety and digitalization solutions.
With the Aurora Class, Höegh Autoliners are raising the demand for ammonia as a viable, zero-carbon maritime fuel. Höegh Autoliners has already partnered with several of the world’s leading ammonia producers to ensure the supply and usage of green ammonia – these include Yara Clean Ammonia, Norwegian North Ammonia, Sumitomo Corporation, and more. Through its membership of the First Movers Coalition, Höegh Autoliners has committed, to powering at least 5% of its deep-sea operations with green ammonia by 2030. The goal is to run its fleet on at least 100,000 metric tons of green ammonia by that same year.
The first Vessel was delivered in July 2024 and will be in commercial operation beginning of August 2024. By the first half of 2027, all twelve Auroras will be delivered and in operation, equipped with engines primed to run on ammonia. Notably, we have secured access to MAN's groundbreaking ammonia 2-stroke engines for installation on the vessels. All Auroras are built exactly alike.
