Photo credit: MOL / MOL´s Cypress Sun, a dual-fuel methanol carrier
Japan’s shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company team up for the long-term charter of a methanol carrier, which can run on either methanol or conventional heavy fuel oil. The vessel, slated for delivery in 2025, will be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
The two companies had a partnership before centered on the ocean transport of methanol when MOL delivered Japan’s first methanol carrier, the Kohzan Maru (first generation), to Mitsubishi Gas Chemical in 1983.
The vessel will be the first dual-fuel methanol carrier to sail under a long-term charter for a Japanese company, says MOL. With this deal the two companies aim to further expand their cooperative relationship.
It’s worth noting that MOL operates one of the largest fleets of methanol carriers, with a total of 19, and in 2016 ships, started operating dual-fuel methanol carrier that can run on methanol fuel.
The company currently operates five methanol dual-fuel methanol carriers worldwide, which have a cumulative methanol-fueled operating time of about 35,000 hours, achieving a significant reduction in GHG emissions. In January, the MOL-owned Cajun Sun completed the world’s first net zero voyage using biomethanol, as explained by the company.
