MOL's 2nd LNG-fuelled ferry enters service in Japan
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ (MOL) second LNG-fuelled ferry, Sunflower Murasaki, has been put into service, the Japanese shipping company said on April 17. It had commissioned its first LNG-fuelled ferry, Sunflower Kurena, in January this year.
The ferry will be owned by MOL and operated by its group company Ferry Sunflower Co. and will operate on the Osaka-Beppu route between Sunflower Ferry Terminal (Osaka Prefecture) and Beppu International Tourist Port (Oita Prefecture) as a replacement for the existing vessel Sunflower Cobalt.
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According to MOL, the vessel adopts the latest environmentally friendly specifications including a dual-fuel engine, which can run on both LNG and heavy fuel oil. The use of LNG fuel is expected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by about 25%, and sulfur oxide by virtually 100%, the company added.
The MOL Group has set a target to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050 and is promoting the wider adoption of LNG fuel through the development and advancement of an LNG fuel supply system in Japan and overseas.
In the ferry business, MOL has already ordered four LNG-fuelled ferries, including Sunflower Kurenai and Sunflower Murasaki. Following the commissioning of Sunflower Kurenai and the Sunflower Murasaki, the first and second LNG-fuelled vessels operated by Ferry Sunflower, the plan is to put the other two ferries into service in 2025.
MOL has teamed up with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (Japex) and Hokkaido Gas Co. for the supply of LNG fuel to two new building LNG-fuelled ferries that will enter service in 2025.