Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has revealed a new name and a new hull color design for its car carriers, which are primarily fuelled by environment-friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG).
As explained, the new name, ‘BLUE’ series, embodies the MOL Group Corporate Mission “From the blue oceans, we sustain people’s lives and ensure a prosperous future”. Furthermore, it conveys the company’s wish for the vessels to “pass on to the future the beauty of the various blues of the earth, sky, sea, and trees.”
Meanwhile, the new hull color design expresses the evolution of MOL’s unified global brand for its car carrier services, MOL ACE, by designing a new shape for the letter ‘A’, the motif of MOL ACE.
The bow is turquoise blue, creating a fusion of green, which has a strong environmental image, and blue, which is MOL’s brand color, and expresses the MOL Group’s ongoing commitment to addressing environmental issues.
The blue color from the stern to the bow is the same one used in the previous ‘FLEXIE’ series, according to MOL.
MOL has ordered a total of eight 7,000-unit capacity LNG-fueled car carriers, which will be delivered in succession between 2024 and 2025, and will also adopt the new series name and new hull color design.
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%.
Under the global unified brand MOL ACE and with the updated design of the new car carriers, based on “safety” and “reliability,” MOL will keep moving forward to provide new value in the form of zero-emission transport.