Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has secured a contract to build Japan’s first dual-fuel LNG bunkering vessel.
The vessel has been ordered by KEYS Bunkering West Japan Co, a joint venture set up in February 2022.
Kyushu Electric Power Co and NYK Line each have a 40% stake in the company, with Itochu Enex holding 15% and Saibu Gas 5%. KEYS is an acronym for Kyushu, Enex, Yusen and Saibu.
NYK Line said the bunker tanker, which will have an LNG tank capacity of 3,500 cbm, will be used to supply LNG bunkers for ships in the Kyushu and Setouchi regions.
KEYS Bunkering West Japan Co has also secured subsidy support for the project from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism.
The funding application, approved on 4 March, comes under an assistance programme that supports the establishment of LNG fuel supply facilities.
The four companies first announced that they were looking at the possibility of supplying LNG as a bunker fuel in western Japan last September.
Kyushu Electric Power is scheduled to take delivery of two 95,000-dwt LNG-fuelled coal carriers in 2023 in a tie-up with NYK Line and Mitsui OSK Lines.
The LNG bunker tanker will be built at the Enoura plant at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Mitsubishi said it is due to be completed and handed over to the owners in March 2024. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The use of LNG propulsion for ships is attracting attention as a solution for compliance with regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas ... emissions,” Mitsubishi said.
“The planned LNG bunkering vessel will have an electric main engine, and be equipped with a dual-fuel engine capable of using both LNG and heavy oil as fuel, a first for an LNG bunkering vessel in Japan.
“When operating in gas mode, it will provide exceptional environmental performance, with considerably reduced emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide and particulate matter.”
