NYK Line aims to cut GHG emissions by operating bulk carrier on bio-methanol

NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers, a subsidiary of Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), expects to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 65% on a well-to-wake basis by operating a methanol dual-fuel bulk carrier on bio-methanol instead of conventional marine fuel.

IMAGE: Methanol dual-fuel bulk carrier Green Future berthing in Chile to load copper concentrates. NYK Line

Well-to-wake refers to total emissions across the entire fuel lifecycle — from production and delivery to combustion onboard.

The vessel, Green Future, used bio-methanol to transport copper concentrate for BHP Group. It bunkered the fuel at Ulsan port, South Korea, in September 2025, then loaded cargo in Chile in January and is scheduled to discharge it in China in March.

The fuel used is certified under ISCC EU standards and produced from biomass-derived feedstock.

NYK has not disclosed the fuel supplier or the volume bunkered.

This marks the first use of low-carbon methanol on an oceangoing bulk carrier, according to the company.

By Tuhin Roy

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