Morning Catherine

 The EUKOR car carrier Morning Catherine arrived this morning, November 19, for Autoport. I believe this is the first time it has called in Halifax. Until this trip it was operating in the far east and Africa. After leaving Mombassa September 29 it called in Dar Es Salam, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Abidjan, then after Dakar, Senegal on October 26 it made calls in Zeebrugge November 4-6, Emden November 7 and Bremerhaven November 8-10. The ship's next scheduled port is New York.

The Morning Catherine was built in 2008 by Imabari Zosen in Marugame, Japan. It is a 61,001 gt, 22,678 dwt ship with a capacity of 6458 cars (some sources say 6502). As stated in a previous post there is high demand for auto carriers in the far east, and it seems likely that the largest ships of the type will be serving those routes whereas ships of this size - which are not the largest - may be seen more often on transatlantic routes. 

From the plume of water vapour emanating from the funnel area, it appears that the ship is equipped with an exhaust gas scrubber system. Some auto makers, particularly Volkswagen, are demanding more energy efficiency and pollution reduction on ships that they use. 

From recent reports it appears that the ship was operating on a lease from the Japanese company Excel Marine to Wilhelmsen Lines, but during the first quarter of 2023 it was purchased outright by Wilhlemsen. Since Wilhelmsen is a part owner of Eukor, the ship may remain in Eukor service and if so will not likely change its name or colour scheme. 

.