Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) recently took delivery of the ‘Cypress Sun’, a dual-fuel methanol carrier that can run on either methanol or conventional heavy fuel oil, from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
The vessel will be chartered by MOL from Osaka Shipping and Waterfront Shipping Company (WFS) of Canada will charter the vessel from MOL under a long-term contract. The vessel is a sister ship to the Capilano Sun, which was delivered in 2021 and also chartered by MOL to WFS.
According to MOL, 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% in comparison to burning conventional marine fuel. The company says that net CO2 emissions can be further reduced by using methanol fuels derived from non-fossil raw materials-such as e-methanol produced by synthesizing CO2 recovered from various emission sources and hydrogen produced using renewable energy, and biogas-derived bio-methanol.
MOL operates one of the world’s largest fleets of methanol carriers, with a total of 19, (including the Cypress Sun), and it has been expanding the number of dual-fuel vessels, which can run on methanol, since 2016. Currently, MOL operates five of the 23 methanol dual-fuel tankers in service worldwide, including the Cypress Sun.
