European shortsea RoRo shipper UECC on Friday (28 October) said it held a naming ceremony for multi-fuel, LNG battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) Auto Advance and Auto Aspire, in Zeebrugge and a virtual ceremony respectively.
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 26 October ceremony in Zeebrugge attended by over 100 guests, who were also given a guided tour of the Auto Advance.
Attendees included UECC customers, owners, suppliers, partners and port authorities, as well as the Mayor of Bruges/Zeebrugge Dirk De fauw. Representatives from UECC’s owners NYK and Wallenius Lines, along with company staff, were also in attendance.
The christening of the Auto Advance was performed in traditional manner by Lister with the cracking of a champagne bottle on the hull to a fanfare of vessel horns and a tugboat spraying water, while the Auto Aspire was named in a virtual ceremony.
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.
“This could not have been achieved without the hard work, dedication and expertise of the entire workforce at Jiangnan Shipyard and the UECC design and site team that consisted of Wallenius Marine, NYK and UECC people, who had to overcome difficulties with lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic to keep construction of the vessels on track,” said CEO Glenn Edvardsen.
Related: UECC takes delivery of third LNG battery hybrid PCTC “Auto Aspire” from Chinese yard
Related: UECC takes delivery of second LNG battery hybrid PCTC from Chinese yard
Related: UECC celebrates launch of third and final advanced dual-fuel LNG battery hybrid PCTC
Related: UECC launches second in series of three LNG battery hybrid newbuilds at Chinese yard
Related: UECC third LNG battery hybrid PCTC undergoes keel-laying milestone at Chinese yard
Photo credit: UECC
Published: 31 October, 2022
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