Volkswagen may still be getting heat for some time for the emissions of its diesel engines. But the vehicles it manufactures account for only part of the emissions the company produces. Shipping parts and completed vehicles from one part of the world to another contributes more than its fair share, but VW is working on that.
The German automaker has just announced a deal that will see its cars transported from Europe to North America using a pair of new ships powered by liquefied natural gas. The vessels measure over 650 feet long by 118 feet wide, or roughly the size of a WW2-era Yorktown-class aircraft carrier – shorter from bow to stern, but wider and taller.
Each is powered by a single engine manufactured by MAN (one of the heavy equipment manufacturers under VW’s Truck & Bus division), rated at nearly 17,000 horsepower, and fueled by an 800,000-gallon LNG tank below decks.
Operated by Siem Car Carriers AS, each of the vessels can carry around 4,500 vehicles. They’re estimated to cut CO2 emissions by up to 25%, NOx by up to 30%, particulate matters by up to 60%, and SOx almost completely.
They’ll be used initially to transport completed vehicles from their assembly plants in Europe to their customers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, starting in 2019. After that, the Volkswagen Group plans to implement more LNG freighters in other parts of the world as it relies less on long-distance transport by truck and more on shipping lanes.
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