UECC embarks on renewed fleet expansion with addition of ex-Höegh car carrier

United European Car Carriers (UECC) is expanding its fleet with an additional car carrier 

It follows the recent acquisition by UECC’s joint owner Wallenius Lines of the 2006-built Höegh Chiba from Höegh Autoliners, with the vessel renamed Auto Way and fixed on a long-term charter with UECC for deployment on the North-South trade route from end-October this year.

“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,” says UECC’s COO Per Christian Mørk.

“The addition of another vessel will enable us to increase both cargo capacity and sailing frequency, as well as expand this network with additional ports in co-operation with our customers to provide tailor-made services.”

The ports of Cuxhaven, Germany and Efesan, Turkey will now be added to the North-South route that is the largest trading loop operated by UECC and therefore absorbs the largest number of vessels, with four ships currently plying the route on an eight-day sailing frequency covering eight ports in Germany, Belgium, the UK, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

The capacity boost will increase the number of UECC vessels operating on the route to five, now taking in 10 ports, to further enhance the high regularity of its operations on the major regional service between northern and southern Europe.

The Auto Way, with capacity of 6000 CEU, was chosen due to the flexibility of its deck configuration with the ability to transport breakbulk cargoes as well as a wide range of rolling HH equipment, providing flexible capacity for UECC customers, according to Mørk.

“By adding a vessel, we are demonstrating our clear ambition to improve our services to current and future partners. Furthermore, we see future growth potential based on market requirements, both in the shorter and longer term,” he says.

Wallenius Lines’ CEO Erik Nøklebye states: “The purchase from Höegh Autoliners is in line with the strategy of being actively engaged in this shipping segment through innovation, design, building, management of and investing in both used and new tonnage, offering direct support to our partner companies.”

The latest vessel addition increases the size of UECC’s fleet to 14 owned and chartered units as it eyes further fleet expansion, with another vessel addition on the cards later this year, to meet increasing market demand for sustainable maritime transport after earlier investments in five dual-fuelled/multi-fuelled LNG and battery hybrid newbuilds.

Mørk says the company intends to operate the 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 costs exposure for its customers by cutting their Scope 3 emissions amid new green regulations, notably the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and FuelEU Maritime.