World’s first multi-fuel LNG battery hybrid PCTC Auto Advance and sistership Auto Aspire christened at Zeebrugge ceremony
UECC’s pioneering newbuild trio of multi-fuel LNG battery hybrid PCTCs “will make a real difference for the environment and for business” as new green regulations are set to shift the market playing field, CEO Glenn Edvardsen said at the naming ceremony for flagship Auto Advance and its sistership Auto Aspire this week, according to the company's release.
The two newbuilds were formally named by appointed Godmother Rosemary Lister, Head of Raw Material, Indirect and Supply Chain Purchasing at Toyota Motor Europe, at the October 26 ceremony in Zeebrugge attended by over 100 guests, who were also given a guided tour of the Auto Advance.
The Auto Advance has already been trading in North European waters for the past year following delivery last November from China’s Jiangnan Shipyard.
The Auto Advance and its sisterships are the first vessels of their kind to be brought into operation, combining a multi-fuel LNG engine with a hybrid battery solution and smart energy management system in an innovative configuration designed for reduced fuel consumption and energy efficiency.
They have been developed by leading sustainable shortsea Ro-Ro carrier UECC together with Jiangnan’s in-house design institute, as well as Wallenius Marine and NYK.
The deliveries of the three newbuilds over the past year have proven timely given the IMO’s CII and EEXI/EEDI regulations to cut the carbon intensity of both new and existing vessels are due to kick in from 1 January 2023.
All three PCTCs already exceed the IMO requirement for a 40% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 that is the purpose of these regulations, according to Edvardsen.
Furthermore, the cost of running ships on conventional marine fuels in Europe is set to increase with the removal of a tax exemption on bunker suppliers in the EEA from next year under the Energy Taxation Directive.
Pollutive ships will also be increasingly penalised with the expected extension of the EU’s Emissions Trading System to shipping from 2024, which could add as much as 50% to the cost of fossil fuel consumption, based on recent carbon pricing, due to the need to buy emissions allowances, according to UECC.
