Fuel supplier Osaka Gas is now offering LNG bunkering for vessels using the ship-to-ship method, which means Osaka Gas has become a supplier for marine LNG fuel with all three primary supply methods—ship-to-ship, truck-to-ship, and port-to-ship.
Recently, LNG fuel was supplied from the LNG bunkering vessel Seto Azure to a dual-fuel Capesize bulk carrier at JFE Steel Corporation’s West Japan Works in Fukuyama District, Hiroshima, marking the first operation under the ship-to-ship method.
This enables Osaka Gas to deliver a flexible and stable LNG bunkering service by offering multiple supply options tailored to vessel location and operational conditions. The availability of all three methods is intended to enhance supply reliability, operational efficiency, and overall service resilience.
The ship-to-ship method—where an LNG bunkering vessel directly supplies fuel to ships at berth or anchorage—offers a high degree of operational flexibility. It enhances operational redundancy and supply resilience by enabling LNG loading at Osaka Gas’ Senboku LNG Terminal in Osaka and Himeji LNG Terminal in Hyogo.
The Seto Azure, owned by Osaka Bay LNG Shipping, an affiliated company of Osaka Gas, was delivered in early April 2026. The vessel will primarily operate in the Osaka Bay and Setouchi areas as part of Osaka Gas’ LNG bunkering operations.
According to Sea-LNG, of which Osaka Gas is a member, LNG-fuelled vessels have been attracting increasing attention as one of the solutions for decarbonising the shipping sector, and their numbers have been rising globally. LNG as a marine fuel significantly reduces CO₂ emissions compared with conventional HFO, and further reductions can be achieved by transitioning to e-methane and other synthetic fuels. In Japan, however, LNG bunkering infrastructure has remained limited.
Image: Osaka Gas initiates LNG ship-to-ship bunkering (source: Sea-LNG)
