Car and ship enthusiasts were in for a treat this week when the Höegh Target docked at the Port of Durban.
One of a series of six Post-Panamax vessels under the New Horizon class, the vessel has a capacity to transport 8500 cars and represents state-of-the-art engineering and design. The New Horizon vessels in Höegh’s fleet of autoliners are currently the world’s largest pure car carrier vessels.
Höegh Target was the first of these new ships that the company took delivery of in 2015. The Target first visited Durban when she called at the port during her maiden voyage in 2015. Designed to minimize its impact on the environment with energyefficiency innovations used throughout the ship’s design process, the vessels are fitted with the latest technology in the market.
Offering a combination of high cargo capacity and low fuel consumption, it’s all about achieving outstanding performance. Whilst the capacity is measured in CEU, these vessels are also equipped to handle heavy commercial vehicles, project cargo and construction, as well as mining and agricultural machinery.
With a door opening of 6,5m and increased ramp capacity, the vessels are able to easily accommodate and handle heavy vehicles. FTW took a look at some of the interesting statistics of the New Horizon vessels.
One could easily crowd 75 elephants on the stern ramp, which takes 375 tonnes of cargo, while the door opening is about 100cm higher than an average giraffe at 6,5m. If one placed the maximum number of cars on board one of these vessels in a row, they would equal the length of a marathon, or 42km.
New Horizon vessels such as the Target also emit only half of carbon emissions per car transported, compared with a standard car carrier.
CAPTION
The New Horizon-class Höegh autoliner, Target, that docked in Durban harbour
