SUNFLOWER KAMUY © Ferry Sunflower

Naming and launching ceremony held for SUNFLOWER KAMUY

FerryThe naming and launching ceremony was held for the first of two LNG-fuelled ferries being built at the Naikai Zosen shipyard. Named SUNFLOWER KAMUY, it will be delivered in December 2024 and is slated to enter service on the late-night Oarai-Tomakomai route operated by MOL Sunflower in early 2025.

The second, yet-unnamed, of the two new vessels is scheduled to enter service on the same route within 2025.

With the addition of these vessels, the MOL Group will operate a fleet of four LNG-fuelled ferries on east-west routes in Japan by 2025, joining the SUNFLOWER KURENAI and SUNFLOWER MURASAKI, which went into service on the Osaka-Beppu route in 2023.

The vessel will be able to reduce CO₂ emissions by about 35% compared to currently in-service vessels on the Hokkaido route by adopting various state-of-the-art technologies in addition to LNG fuel, thereby contributing to the reduction of overall CO₂ emissions.

In addition, the MOL Group will promote Japan's "Modal Shift" and strive to solve the "2024 problem of logistics," by expanding the loading space for trucks compared to the currently in-service vessels and providing more comfortable space for truck drivers by making all cabins private rooms.