United European Car Carriers (UECC) has again earned Bremenports’ Green Focus Award for Cleanest Vessel, with its multi-fuel LNG battery hybrid PCTC ‘Auto Advance’ recognised as the most eco-friendly ship calling at the German ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven in 2023.
The vessel achieved the highest green ranking with an Environmental Ship Index (ESI) score of 80.1 following 10 calls at the port of Bremerhaven in 2023 to secure the prize, demonstrating the advances in sustainability achieved by UECC through investments in green newbuilds.
The ESI is an international standard developed by major North West European ports as part of the World Port Climate Initiative to benchmark the performance of ships in relation to their CO2, NOx and SOx emissions, with scores between zero and 100 indicating the extent to which a vessel outperforms IMO requirements.
This is the third time that European shortsea RoRo operator UECC has won the award after its dual-fuel LNG car carrier Auto Energy gained the earlier Greenports award both in 2018 and 2022, when the company also earned the accolade for cleanest fleet.
UECC’s Head of Newbuilding Jan Thore Foss said: “The Auto Advance has an LNG battery hybrid propulsion system, so that she achieves excellent emission levels. We are delighted that this award honours our performance and see it as encouragement to continue to opt for a green fleet.”
Bremenports’ MD Robert Howe said: “UECC has evolved into a key performer in the Green Focus Awards, as the company has achieved significant reductions in GHG emissions across its fleet both through investing in LNG-fuelled newbuilds and adopting biofuels on existing vessels.”
The 2021-built Auto Advance is one of three sisterships, along with Auto Achieve and Auto Aspire, earlier delivered from China’s Jiangnan Shipyard that are the first PCTCs to combine a multi-fuel LNG engine with a hybrid battery solution and smart energy management system in an innovative configuration to reduce fuel consumption and boost energy efficiency.
The use of LNG cuts CO2 emissions by around 25% versus conventional fossil fuels, while reducing NOx emissions by 95%, and results in minimal discharges of particulate matter and SOx. Consequently, UECC’s five LNG-fuelled PCTCs already exceed the IMO target for a 40% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 versus 2008. Furthermore, UECC has been able to achieve carbon-neutral operations with these vessels by bunkering liquefied biomethane, or bioLNG, under its recently launched Sail for Change sustainability programme in collaboration with European vehicle manufacturers.
This is part of the company’s pioneering effort to adopt alternative fuels to lower the carbon footprint of its fleet, while cutting Scope 3 emissions of transport logistics for clients to reduce their financial exposure to the EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime regulations.
Foss concluded: “The Green Focus Award clearly shows that our efforts in developing low-carbon solutions are paying off as we enhance the environmental profile of our fleet through progressive reductions in carbon intensity to exceed both IMO and EU regulatory requirements.”
Image: UECC’s ‘Auto Advance’ PCTC (source: UECC)
