Norway’s Höegh Autoliners has continued to offload ageing tonnage in a new deal, which will see a 19-year-old vessel exit the fleet as the company readies the field for its newbuilding series to enter service.
The Oslo-based company is shipping out the 2005-built Höegh New York to an undisclosed buyer for $60.6m. The 6,500 ceu is debt-free and should change hands in the first quarter of 2025, the Andreas Enger-led operator of around 40 car carriers said in a stock exchange filing.
Höegh Autoliners had previously sold a brace of 2006-built sister vessels Höegh Chiba and Höegh Kobe in two separate deals worth $120m in total.
“The sale of Höegh New York presents another good opportunity to further optimise the fleet, as we are getting more newbuilt vessels delivered,” said chief executive Enger.
The company has invested about $1.2bn in a dozen multi-fuel and net zero carbon ready 9,100 ceu ships delivering from 2024 through 2027. The first newbuild in the series, the Höegh Aurora, touted as the world’s largest and most environmentally friendly car carrier ever built, was recently delivered at China Merchants Heavy Industry’s yard in Jiangsu and is already in service.