16 Oct 2026
Santander, October 16, 2026. The president of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, welcomed the Höegh Autoliners vessel Starlight to the Port of Santander this afternoon, marking its first visit to the Cantabrian harbor.
Díaz, accompanied by the RoRo director of Davila Agencias y Servicio Portuarios, Manuel Trueba, presented a commemorative plaque to the ship's captain, Edgar Paul P. Buhia, and took the opportunity to congratulate the company on “its commitment to decarbonization.”
The Starlight is the seventh of the eighteen Aurora Class vessels, designed for the transport of cars and trucks (PCTC, Pure Car and Truck Carrier). Along with the rest of the ships in the series, it is the largest and most ecological in the world and the first to be prepared to operate with zero-carbon ammonia propulsion.
The construction of this fleet is part of the company's decarbonization strategy. Six additional units have been incorporated into the twelve initially planned vessels, with their entry into service scheduled between 2029 and 2031, with an option to expand the order by four more vessels.
Currently, the shipping company already has eight of the vessels sailing and operating commercially, and the rest will be delivered gradually until the first half of 2028.
The president of the APS also thanked the shipping company for its “once again” trust in the Port of Santander, after twenty-six years of operations in the Cantabrian dock, “which demonstrates that we work in perfect harmony.”
He also highlighted that the Port constitutes “a key logistics center for all of Spain regarding vehicle traffic,” endorsed by the Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (ANFAC) “for its efficiency, professionalism, and ability to manage complex operations successfully.”
“This is a strategic traffic, a hallmark of the Port, for which we are committed with increasingly more and better infrastructure to achieve excellence in service to our clients.” “The expansion of the vertical car silo, the heel and ramp of Raos 9, or the new Raos 6 pier are proof of this,” he noted.
The vessel docked this morning at Raos 8 pier, arriving from Le Havre to load two hundred and fifty-six vehicles and machinery, bound for South Africa, Reunion Island, India, and Oman.
This car carrier, flying the Norwegian flag and consigned by Davila Agencias y Servicios Portuarios, is 200 meters long and has a capacity to load up to 9,100 vehicles.
Aurora Class
It features the largest and most environmentally friendly PCTCs in the world, further accelerating Höegh Autoliners' decarbonization efforts and setting a new standard for more sustainable deep-sea transport.
Being the first in the PCTC segment to receive DNV ammonia-ready and methanol-ready notations, the Aurora class will also be the first to be prepared to operate with zero-carbon ammonia propulsion, with the main engine designed by MAN and the bridge system supplied by Kongsberg Maritime.
Through agreements with leading global ammonia distributors, Höegh Autoliners is driving the industry towards a net-zero future and creating demand for sustainable fuels to accelerate the transition.
The Höegh Starlight has a capacity of up to 9,100 cars and, thanks to its fourteen reinforced decks and improved internal ramp systems, can transport electric vehicles on all of them. In addition, it is equipped with the latest maritime technology, including state-of-the-art safety and digitalization solutions.
It is also prepared to use shore power (OPS) and perform emission-free port operations.
All Aurora class vessels are sister ships, are being built by China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI), and are classified by DNV and registered under the Norwegian flag. The Norwegian shipowner has reserved a slot for the option of four additional vessels, which could bring the total for this class to twenty-six.
