Mitsui OSK Line (MOL) group company Ferry Sunflower and Kyushu Electric Power Co (Kyuden) have announced that the ‘Sunflower Kurenai’, Japan’s first LNG-fuelled ferry ordered by MOL and operated by Ferry Sunflower, has received its first LNG fuel supply from Kyuden at the Port of Beppu in Oita Prefecture.
LNG fuel was supplied via truck-to-ship to the ferry —the first time in Japan— with a skid which connected four tank trucks to the ferry. Unlike a conventional method of receiving LNG fuel supply by connecting a single tank truck to LNG-fuelled vessels, the use of the skid enables the ferry to receive LNG fuel from four tank trucks simultaneously, speeding up the process.
The LNG fuel was supplied to the tank trucks by Oita Liquefied Natural Gas Company, a Kyuden group company, and Niyac Corporation transported the LNG fuel and supplied it to the ferry.
The ferry will be deployed on the Osaka-Beppu route operated by Ferry Sunflower and start commercial service from Osaka to Beppu on January 13, 2023. Thereafter, LNG fuel will be supplied when the ferry calls at the Port of Beppu. The LNG fuel supplied this time will be used for trial operation ahead of the launch of commercial service.
LNG fuel emits almost no SOx and has GHG emission reduction effects, such as reduction of CO2 emissions by about 25% compared to conventional fuel oil, and it is considered the most effective low-carbon ship fuel at this time. MOL, Ferry Sunflower and Kyuden will continue to proactively use environment-friendly LNG as they work to realise a low-carbon society
