MOL adds LNG-powered car carrier to its fleet

Japanese shipping line Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has taken delivery of an LNG dual-fuel car carrier, Cerulean Ace from Onishi Shipyard of Shin Kurushima Dockyard.

PHOTO: The LNG-fueled car carrier Cerulean Ace. MOL

The 7,050-car equivalent unit (CEU) vessel will be used to transport cars, including those manufactured by Japan's Mazda Motor.

This delivery marks the first of 11 LNG-fuelled car carriers to be built in Japan under MOL's "Blue" series, which comprise LNG-powered vessels. Additionally, the company ordered two LNG-powered car carriers from Nihon Shipyard, last September. MOL has set a goal to operate 90 LNG-powered and methanol-fuelled vessels by 2030.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a GHG compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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