Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has reached an agreement with compatriot Nihon Shipyard and Shin Kurushima Dockyard for the construction of four 7,000-unit capacity car carriers that will use environment-friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG) as their main fuel.
The newly ordered ships are scheduled for delivery in succession, from 2024 to 2025. This will bring the company’s total orders for LNG-fueled car carriers to eight.
In September last year, MOL ordered the first batch of four LNG-fueled car carriers, which are slated for delivery in 2024. The units will serve Novatek Gas and Power Asia, part of Russia’s PAO Novatek.
Compared to conventional marine fuel oil, LNG is expected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) which is a greenhouse gas (GHG), by about 25%-30% and sulfur oxide (SOx) by 100%.
In June 2021, MOL established “MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1” as a guide to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050 . The company plans to launch about 90 LNG-fueled vessels by 2030 , under its strategy calling for the adoption of clean alternative fuels to achieve that target.
The company continues to accelerate its alternative fuels-focused initiatives including the construction of additional LNG-fueled car carriers, other LNG-fueled vessel projects in which the MOL Group has engaged, biofuel and research on the use of ammonia and the like.
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