MOL launches Japan's 1st methanol-fueled coastal tanker
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced that on July 3, its group MOL Coastal Shipping, Ltd. held a naming and launching ceremony for a newbuilding coastal tanker, jointly owned by MOL Coastal Shipping, Tabuchi Kaiun Co., Ltd., and Niihama Kaiun Kabushiki Kaisha, at Kanasashi Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. of Murakami Hide Shipbuilding Group. The vessel was named the Daiichi Meta Maru, and will transport methanol cargo for Mitsubishi Corporation.
The Daiichi Meta Maru is Japan's first domestic coastal vessel to use environmentally friendly methanol fuel, and is a state-of-the-art vessel equipped with the most advanced energy-saving devices and operational support and automated cargo handling systems. The vessel is scheduled for delivery from Kanasashi Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in December.
The use of methanol fuel reduces emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes global warming, and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which cause acid rain, in addition to sulfur oxides (SOx), compared to the heavy fuel oil used by conventional merchant ships.
The MOL Group will continue working to reduce the environmental impact of marine transport in cooperation with joint shipowners.
[Outline of the Daiichi Meta Maru]
Gross tonnage: About 570 tons
Length: About 65.50m
Breadth: 10.00m
Draft: About 4.38m
Speed: 11.15 knots or more
Main engine: One Hanshin Diesel Works "LA28M" methanol-fueled marine engine