NYK Conducts Japan's 1st Ship to Ship LNG Bunkering

LNG bunkering vessel Kaguya supplied LNG to a pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) owned by Japanese shipping company NYK at Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding, NYK said on October 21. This is the first time in Japan that LNG was supplied to a vessel via ship-to-ship bunkering.

Kaguya is operated by Central LNG Marine Fuel Japan Corp, which is a joint venture comprising NYK, K Line, Jera, and Toyota Tsusho Corp. The vessel will be based at the Kawagoe thermal power station and will soon begin supplying LNG fuel to ships in the Chubu region using ship-to-ship bunkering, NYK said.

Sakura Leader, the PCTC that received the LNG, is the first large LNG-fuelled ship to be built at a shipyard in Japan. The vessel is scheduled to be delivered in late October and will be capable of transporting around 7,000 units.

The International Maritime Organisation wants to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping by at least 50% by 2050, and it is expected that many vessels powered by LNG will be built to help achieve this goal, NYK said.

Banner image courtsey NYK