The world’s largest car carrier, the Höegh Target, arrived at and sailed from the Port of Tyne this week on her maiden voyage. The ship is capable of carrying 9,500 cars and is now continuing her global journey back to Japan.
She sailed from China via Japan, Italy, France, Spain and Holland before arriving on the Tyne and will visit 30 different ports world-wide in Europe, South Africa and Australia during her two month voyage. The vessel is 194m long and 36m wide and 47m high. Gross tonnage is 76,400 tonnes.
The Höegh Target the first post-panamax size ship in the Höegh fleet and will be joined by five others in over the next couple of years.
Andrew Moffat, Chief Executive Officer, Port of Tyne, said: “It’s an exciting day to welcome the world’s largest car carrier to the Port of Tyne on her maiden voyage. We have invested significantly in recent years to ensure that the river and the port infrastructure can accommodate the majority of the world’s largest ships today.
“This has meant major construction work and dredging, and we need to invest even further as the world’s ships continue to get bigger. By doing so we can continue to support the region’s businesses who need to get their goods to market quickly and efficiently.
“This new scale of car carriers will support Nissan in their exports world-wide and other customers such as VW Audi in imports of cars, all of which keeps global trade moving cost effectively to the benefit of business and the consumer.”
To view the Höegh Target arriving at the Port of Tyne click here.
