Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) that its LNG-fueled tugboat 'Ishin' bunkered LNG fuel in Sakai Senboku Port for the first time, in preparation for test operation.
MOL ordered the vessel from Kanagawa Dockyard. This is the first bunkering of LNG as a vessel fuel at any port in the Kansai region.
The LNG fuel was supplied by Osaka Gas using a truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure. The truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure supplies LNG fuel from an LNG truck on shore.
After test sailing with LNG fuel, the Ishin is slated for delivery in late February, and will start operation in April as the first LNG-fueled tugboat serving Osaka Bay. The Ishin will be operated by Nihon Tug.
Working closely with the Osaka Prefecture Port and Harbor Bureau and Osaka Gas, MOL has worked to develop an LNG fuel supply system for ships in Sakai Senboku Port, which will be the first in Osaka Bay, through development of the Ishin.
The MOL Group continually contributes to widening the use of LNG fuel for ships and reducing their environmental impact by building upon the safe and efficient operation of the Ishin.
MOL established the Bunker Business Office (now Division) to accelerate its initiatives on LNG and other alternative vessel fuels, and is taking an integrated approach to entering the business of supplying LNG and other fuels.
The Ishin's excellent environmental performance – including an estimated 25% reduction of CO2 emissions in comparison to tugs that run on A fuel oil – earned the top rating of four stars from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's energy-saving rating scheme for Japan's costal ships.
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