Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines has sealed a second loan deal under a energy transition finance framework, with plans to use the cash to fund its newly delivered wind-assisted bulk carrier.
The new financial deal, which is also based on sustainability-linked loan principles, has been secured from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
The loan will back the 100,422-dwt coal carrier newbuilding Shofu Maru.
MOL said the loan is designed to support companies that are considering measures to address climate change and taking initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with a long-term strategy to achieve a decarbonised society.
On Friday, the company took delivery of the pioneering Shofu Maru — whose name is made up from “Sho” meaning pine and “Fu” for wind and which is its first vessel to be fitted with MOL’s Wind Challenger telescopic hard sail.
The ceremony, which was held at Oshima Dockyard, was attended by MOL president and chief executive Takeshi Hasimoto and yard president Eiichi Hiraga. Also at the ceremony was Kojiro Higuchi, who is president of the ship’s charterer, Tohoku Electric Power Co.
MOL senior technical officials said this is the world’s first telescopic hard sail. Wind Challenger is coated in fibre reinforced plastic to keep the structure light yet robust. The 15-metre-wide sail can rise to 53-metres when fully extended and is fully automated.
The bulker, which will be used to ship coal from Australia, Indonesia and North America, was due to depart for the Australian port of Gladstone.
MOL has said Wind Challenger is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 5% on a voyage between Japan and Australia and around 8% on a route linking Japan with North America’s west coast, compared to a conventional vessel of the same type. It will cut fuel consumption in the process.
The company is building the second Wind Challenger-fitted vessel, which is scheduled for handover in 2024. MOL Group set a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
