LNG Tugboat Ordered by Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines has signed a deal for the construction of an LNG-fueled tugboat with Kanagawa Dockyard Co. The construction is slated to start in February 2018 and complete in February 2019, and the launch is scheduled for April of the same year.

The ship will be MOL’s first tugboat powered by LNG, and it will be the first LNG-fueled tugboat in Japan. It is also Japan’s first LNG-fueled tugboat with the LNG fuel tank mounted on the exposed deck at the stern of the ship, which enhances convenience in bunkering, maintenance, and inspection.

The ship will be operated by Nihon Tug-Boat Co., and it will be deployed in Osaka Bay in April 2019. LNG fuel will be supplied by Osaka Gas Co. using a truck-to-ship system. MOL and Osaka Gas will establish an LNG fuel supply system for vessels, which will be the first in Osaka Bay and cooperate in the measures of LNG fuel supply development project conducted by Port and Harbor Bureau of Osaka Prefectural Government at the Sakai-senboku Port.

MOL will move ahead with research on practical use of an LNG fuel supply system with a detachable, portable LNG fuel tank, by adapting this design to the tugboat.