United European Car Carriers
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United European Car Carriers (UECC) is a Norwegian
roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...
shipping line, created in 1990 and based in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The company primarily transports cargo on short sea routes within
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.


History

The company had its roots in Ugland-Aall Car Carriers (UACC), established in the 1970s. Johan Benad Ugland was a shareholder in the group. In 1990, its commercial operations and fleet of 19 vessels were sold (and rebranded as United European Car Carriers) to focus together with Leif Höegh & Co, on Hoegh-Ugland Autoliners ("HUAL") as a deep sea
Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...
carrier.
From 1990, UECC is jointly owned by
Nippon Yusen The , also known as NYK Line, is a Japanese shipping company. The company headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It operates a fleet of over 820 ships, which includes container ships, Tanker (ship), tankers, bulk and woodchip carrie ...
Kaisha and
Wallenius Lines Wallenius Lines is a privately owned Swedish shipping company. The company was founded in 1934 by Olof Wallenius. Wallenius Lines is an investor and active owner within the global shipping industry, specifically the international car and roll-o ...
, in a 50-50 share agreement. The main purpose of the acquisition was the plan to offer short sea service for Japanese automobile manufacturers that had manufacturing plants in Europe, along with improving the intra-
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
feeder network, by providing extensive connections to a number of destinations that could not be served by oceanic vessels due to physical or commercial limitations. UECC was the first roll-on/roll-off line to build and deploy a liquified natural gas-powered ship. In 2016, the company took delivery of two dual fuel LNG pure car and truck carriers, ''Auto Eco'' and ''Auto Energy'', of the 1A Super Finnish/Swedish ice class. At that time, the vessels were the largest dual fuel vessels in the world, with a capacity of 4,000 cars each.


Operations

UECC has 18 vessels that call at over 25 ports every week. Its trade routes include
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
-
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
to the Scandinavian and Baltic countries (including
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
), Mediterranean to Northern Europe (including
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
),
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
to UK and
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. The main business is the domestic maritime transport and distribution of cargo such as automobiles, trucks, trailers, Mafi roll trailers, heavy construction machineries and further types of rolling freight. The company is also active in terminal operations, controlling some of the on-shore activities, vehicles handling and storage facilities of ports such as Pasajes and
Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...
in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, and
Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...
in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. Aside from its headquarters in Oslo, UECC also has four other branch offices in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Setubal,
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
and
Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
.


See also

* KESS - K Line Europe Short Sea *
Euro Marine Logistics Euro Marine Logistics NV (EML) was a European short sea roll-on/roll-off shipping and logistics company, with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally jointly owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Höegh Autoliners, before MOL acquired f ...
* Nissan Motor Car Carrier * Toyofuji Shipping


References


Ships gallery

File:Car carrier Auto Energy.jpg, Auto Energy File:Car carrier Baltic Breeze in2016 (1).jpg, Baltic Breeze File:Car carrier Baltic Breeze.jpg, Baltic Breeze stern File:Arabian Breeze in Cuxhaven 2013 01.jpg, Arabian Breeze File:MV Autorunner R01.jpg, Autorunner File:Pasaiako portua 2.jpg, UECC ship in Spain File:Auto Bank 2011-09-17 (2).jpg, Auto Bank stern File:Ship Autoracer (1).jpg, Autoracer File:Autoprestige 2016 leaving Zeebrugge.jpg, Autoprestige at Zeebrugge File:Autoline car carrier manoeuvering.jpg, Autoline File:Car carrier Auto Bank (1).jpg, Auto Bank File:Arabian Breeze 2011-07-12.jpg, Auto Breeze File:Autoprestige (3).jpg, Autoprestige File:Car carrier Asian Breeze.jpg, Asian Breeze File:Car carrier Arabian Breeze.jpg, Arabian Breeze File:Southampton harbour tug and car transport - geograph.org.uk - 292274.jpg, UECC vessel at Southampton File:Le Havre (France) UECC ship going in port.jpg, UECC vessel at Le Havre File:MV Auto Baltic of Helsinki UECC IMG 4215 IMO 9121998.JPG, Auto Baltic File:Autopride (Ship) 2011 by-RaBoe 02.jpg, Autopride File:UECC Autopride Cargo Ship.jpg, UECC Autopride File:Ship Autoprogress (2).jpg, Autoprogress {{Authority control Transport companies established in 1990 Shipping companies of Norway Car carrier shipping companies Ro-ro shipping companies