Japanese shipping giant NYK Line has contracted domestic shipyard Kawasaki Heavy Industries to build one 86,700-cbm dual-fuel LPG/liquefied ammonia carrier VLGC newbuilding.
The order is the eighth in a series of VLGCs that NYK Line is building at KHI’s Sakaide shipyard, six of which are capable of carrying both LPG and ammonia gas (NH3).
Tokyo-listed NYK did not disclose the costs of its latest VLGC newbuildings but said the vessel is set for delivery in 2026.
NYK said the design gives the ship the “flexibility to respond to various trade patterns”.
The ship features a dual-fuel LPG engine and will be installed with a shaft generator that can generate electrical power during the voyage by using the rotation of the shaft that connects the main engine to the propeller.
The diesel generator can also be stopped and the ship run entirely on LPG fuel, with the exception of a small amount of pilot fuel.
NYK said when LPG is used as fuel, exhaust gas from the ordered VLGC will contain at least 95% less SOx and 20% less CO2 than the company’s conventional VLGCs that are using heavy-oil-fired engines.
“This new VLGC will comply not only with the SOx global cap regulations that were tightened from January 2020 but also with the IMO’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 regulations, which implemented stricter CO2 emission standards from April 2022,” NYK said.
The ship has also been designed to run on ammonia in the future.
