Six Japanese companies – Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) MOL Coastal Shipping, Tabuchi Kaiun, Niihama Kaiun, Murakami Hide Shipbuilding and Hanshin Diesel Works -have announced the decision to build a methanol-fuelled coastal tanker.
The ship, of about 570gt and 65.5m length, will have a methanol-adapted Hanshin LA28M main engine, giving a speed of at least 11.15 knots.
The companies have long been pursuing a strategic alliance to develop a coastal tanker with a methanol-fuelled engine. The vessel will be jointly owned by MOL Coastal Shipping, Tabuchi Kaiun, and Niihama Kaiun, who have signed a shipbuilding contract with Murakami Hide Shipbuilding. The vessel will be built at Kanasashi Heavy Industries, part of the Murakami Hide Shipbuilding Group, and is scheduled for delivery in December 2024. It will be bareboat chartered to Niihama Shipping through the three shipowning companies, and then time-chartered to MOL Coastal Shipping through Tabuchi Kaiun. MOL Coastal Shipping will sign a time charter contract with Mitsubishi Corporation, and the vessel will be engaged in domestic methanol transport from the time of delivery.
Based on the strategic alliance, MOL will provide technical support for the development of the vessel and further promote and develop this strategic alliance, while Hanshin Diesel Works will develop a methanol-fuelled engine.
Compared to heavy oil, which is currently the primary marine fuel oil, the use of methanol fuel can reduce SOx emissions by up to 99%, particulate matter PM emissions by up to 95%, NOx emissions by up to 80%, and CO2 emissions by up to 15%. Methanol fuel is already in practical use and can be supplied and bunkered at about 130 major ports worldwide. The use of methanol derived from non-fossil energy sources, such as e-methanol produced by synthesising CO2 recovered from various emission sources and hydrogen produced using renewable energy, and biogas-derived bio-methanol, can lead to further reductions in net GHG emissions.
Methanol is used as an environmentally friendly fuel in oceangoing vessels, including five vessels operated by the MOL Group, and such use is expected to be significantly expanding in the next couple of years. However, this is thought to be the first time it has been used in coastal vessels.
The development of the vessel has attracted a subsidy from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
