MOL’s 2018-19-built PCTC generation: the four-ship Flexie Class (Photo: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines)

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines orders four 7,000-CEU capacity LNG PCTCS in Japan

Ro-roAs part of the company’s move to have a 90-vessel LNG-fuelled fleet by 2030, Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has ordered four LNG 7,000-CEU capacity PCTCs from two Japanese shipyards – Shin Kurushima Dockyard and Nihon Shipyard. The newbuilding quartet will be delivered from 2024. No contract price has been revealed.

MOL earlier ordered Japan’s first LNG-fuelled ferries. To be named SUNFLOWER KURENAI and SUNFLOWER MURASAKI, the 17,300grt pair will be operated by MOL subsidiary Ferry Sunflower on its Osaka-Beppu route. The 763-passenger and 136 thirteen-metre trailer capacity vessels will be built by Mitsubishi’s Shimonoseki shipyard for delivery at the end of 2022 and during the first half of 2023.

Besides its move towards LNG-fuelled vessels, MOL is also to introduce biofuel-powered vessels and is continuing its research into the use of ammonia and other next-generation fuels.

aug 04 2021