Partnership to build Japan’s first methanol-fueled domestic tanker

Japanese companies Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), MOL Coastal Shipping, Tabuchi Kaiun, Niihama Kaiun, Murakami Hide Shipbuilding, and The Hanshin Diesel Works have agreed to form a strategic alliance aimed at developing a methanol-fueled tanker for use on domestic shipping routes.

Delivery of the vessel, which will be Japan’s first methanol-fueled tanker for domestic use, is scheduled for 2024. The development of the tanker is being partly funded by the Japanese government through the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

MOL said methanol can reduce emissions of SOx by up to 99 per cent, particulate matter by up to 95 per cent, NOx by up to 80 per cent, and CO2 by up to 15 per cent compared to vessels using conventional fuel oil, which is currently the main fuel for marine vessels.