July 11 - United European Car Carriers' (UECC) second newbuild pure car and truck carrier (PCTC), Auto Energy, has been launched by the NACKS shipyard in Nantong, China.
HLPFI reported on April 25 that the first of the two ships - Auto Eco - had been launched by the Chinese yard.
The vessels, which were ordered in 2014, are 181 m long with a 30 m beam and Finnish/Swedish ice class 1A certification. Each ship is capable of carrying approximately 3,800 cars, with 6,000 sq m of space for high and heavy cargoes.
Cargo can be loaded on ten separate decks, with a maximum load weight of 160 tonnes. The ships are able to run on LNG, heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil.
Auto Energy will now undergo sea and gas trials, and is scheduled for delivery to UECC in November 2016.
