The first LNG-fuelled Panamax-class coal carrier, ordered by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Kyushu Electric Power (Kyuden), ‘Shoyo’, has been delivered from the Koyagi yard of Oshima Shipyard and began operations after completing the first bunkering.
NYK operates the vessel to transport coal from overseas to Kyuden’s coal-fired power plants. The use of LNG fuel is said to offer excellent environmental performance compared with traditional marine fuels, virtually eliminating SOx emissions and reducing approximately 80% of NOx emissions and 30% of CO2.
Shoyo received its LNG fuel supply at the port of Tobata (Fukuoka Prefecture) with bunkering carried out shore-to-ship, supplying fuel directly from the handling facility on shore to the vessel. This was the first shore-to-ship bunkering for an oceangoing LNG-fuelled vessel in Japan. The ship is designed to be compatible with both shore-to-ship and ship-to-ship bunkering. From March 2024, a newly built LNG-fuelled bunkering vessel based in the Setouchi and Kyushu area will be able to deliver LNG fuel through ship-to-ship bunkering.
