MOL launches dual-fuel LNG carrier

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has launched an LNG dual-fuel LNG carrier MOL Azure.

PHOTO: MOL’s LNG dual-fuel LNG carrier MOL Azure. MOL

The car carrier, designed to run on both LNG and conventional marine fuel, was built at Hanwha Ocean's Geoje Shipyard in South Korea.

It will operate under a charter agreement with TotalEnergies Gas & Power Limited (TGPL), a subsidiary of energy company TotalEnergies, and is set to depart soon for its first loading port in the US.

LNG has been gaining popularity among shipowners. The global LNG-fuelled fleet is currently made up of 642 vessels, with another 227 expected to join this year, classification society DNV data shows.

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 greenhouse gas (GHG) compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

By Tuhin Roy

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online