Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is continuing preparation for the launch
of Japan’s first LNG-fueled ferries due to enter service in late 2022. The
company announced this week that supply agreements have been established for
the fueling of the two ferries that are currently under construction for its
Ferry Sunflower group company.
The order for the two 656-foot LNG-fueled ferries was placed
in December 2019 with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. The ferries will be equipped
with high-performance dual-fuel engines which the company says will reduce CO2
emissions by 20 percent compared to the current vessels and virtually
eliminating sulfur oxides emissions. The new ferries will also be larger than
the current vessels that were built in 1997.
The LNG ferries, which will be approximately 17,500 gross
tons, will provide passengers with comfortable accommodations and reliable
schedules. The advanced propulsion plant will be also quieter than the current
vessels, ensuring smoother, more relaxing travel. They will have a passenger
capacity of 763 people versus 710 on the older ships that they are replacing
and will carry up to 136 trucks versus 92 on the older ships.
Operating under charter to Ferry Sunflower Limited, the new
ferries, which have tentatively been named the Sunflower Kurenai and the
Sunflower Murasaki, will sail 12-hour voyages on the approximately 230 nautical
mile route between Osaka and Beppu. Under the LNG supply agreement with Kyushu
Electric Power Co., the two vessels will be fueled while berthed in the Beppu
Port.
Around 50 tons of LNG fuel per day will be supplied via
truck-to-ship using tank trucks loaded at the Oita Liquefied Natural Gas
Company’s loading stations. Niyac Corporation will transport and supply LNG to
the ferries from its tank trucks parked on the pier and Oita Gas Co will
oversee safety during LNG bunkering. To speed the fueling process for the
ferries, the company plans to build a skid that can accommodate up to four
tanker trucks, allowing them to fuel the vessels simultaneously.
Japan has also begun to develop its first ship-to-ship LNG
fueling capabilities and expects to introduce more LNG bunkering ships to
provide greater support to the shipping industry. In 2019, MOL introduced its
first LNG-powered vessel, the tugboat the Ishin which also became the first
LNG-fueled tugboat serving Osaka Bay. MOL also promotes the wider use of LNG as
a marine fuel as a forerunner in the trend toward LNG-fueled ships by
cooperating in LNG fuel supply programs in the ports of Kobe and Nagoya.