Höegh Autoliners secures 5-year deal for US to Middle East trade

June 27, 2024, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

Norwegian RoRo transportation services provider Höegh Autoliners has signed a five-year contract with an unnamed ‘major’ international car producer for the transport of cars from the US and Mexico to the Middle East.

Illustration. Courtesy of Höegh Autoliners

“We are pleased to have formalized the collaboration with one of our most important customers in the form of a five-year contract for the transport of their cargo from US and Mexico to the Middle East. Serving our strategic customers and allocating capacity to them in our systems both ex. Atlantic and ex. Asia is our top priority. We have a long history in the US to the Middle East trade and it gives us confidence that customers see us as their trusted long-term carrier for their products in this corridor,” Andreas Enger, CEO of Höegh Autoliners, commented.

“Höegh Autoliners is committed to providing our customers with transportation that has reduced carbon intensity. We have successfully reduced our carbon footprint by 40% since 2008. Later this year we will offer our customers the opportunity to transport their cargo on the first of our Aurora class newbuilds, which at the time of delivery will be the largest and most carbon-efficient car carriers in the industry, with over 50% lower emissions than a standard PCTC.”

The Oslo-based company, which operates around 40 roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels, is committed to developing solutions for greener and more sustainable deep-sea transportation.

The company has ordered a dozen of 9,100 CEU multi-fuel Aurora-class vessels. The ships, which are being built in China, will be ‘the world’s largest and most environmentally friendly’ car carriers ever built. The units will be able to run on ammonia by 2027.

The first unit from the batch embarked on sea trials earlier this month and is currently sailing in the ocean east of Shanghai.

Last week, Höegh Autoliners was granted NOK 109.4 million (about $10.4 million) from government enterprise Enova for four of the company’s ammonia-powered Aurora newbuilds.