Japan Takes the Lead on Ammonia as Maritime Fuel
Late last year Japanese maritime leaders – Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Japan Engine Corporation, IHI Power Systems Co., and Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. – signed a series of contracts to buid the world's first ammonia-fueled medium gas carrier (AFMGC) equipped with Japan-make engines. The target is a completed ship by November 2026.While the project is significant, hurdles remain, namely:While development work is underway, today there is not yet a dual-fuel ammonia engine on the market…
Yanmar Conducts High-Pressure Ship Refueling Test with Hydrogen
Yanmar Power Technology (YPT) conducted what it touts as the world's first 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen refueling of a ship using a demonstration test boat equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell system. The 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen refueling was carried out in cooperation with Toyota Tsusho Corporation, using a specially licensed high-pressure facility and a newly developed prototype long hydrogen refueling hose. The 70MPa high-pressure refueling resulted in more than three times longer cruising time compared to the previous refueling process.
Japanese Project Tests Ship-based CO2 Capture System
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has been working in cooperation with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), to conduct test operations and measurements for a small scale demonstration plant of the “Marine-based CO2 Capture System”, in order to verify the equipment’s use. The equipment has now been installed on board the Corona Utility, a coal carrier for Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. operated by “K” Line, at MHI’s Honmoku Plant at the Yokohama…
Sakura Leader: New LNG-fueled Pure Car Carrier Enters Service
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. completed installation of the first unit of an LNG (liquefied natural gas) fuel gas supply system (FGSS) for marine dual fuel engines, delivered in November last year, on the pure car carrier (PCC) built by Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The first LNG-fueled PCC built in Japan was delivered to Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha on October 28, 2020, and has entered service. During the construction period after the delivery of the FGSS…
Meet the World's First Digital Smart Ship, the Japanese Built LNG-Fueled PCTC Sakura Leader
The run up to 2050 and dramatic reductions in emissions from ships will, by most expert’s thinking, be an evolution of small steps premised on melding new fuels and digitalization technologies. The recent delivery of the LNG-fueled PCTC Sakura Leader to NYK can be considered a sizable leap in this regard, as the ship has been designated as the world’s first digital smart ship.A Big Step Toward CO2 Reduction TargetsOn October 28, NYK took delivery of Sakura Leader, a pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) capable of navigating oceans with only LNG as the ship’s main fuel.
Japan to Develop Offshore Wind Farms at 30 Sites in 10 years
Japan will craft new rules and support infrastructure in a drive that aims to build offshore wind farms at 30 sites during the next decade, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama is expected to announce policy measures soon to target the goal, the paper said, without identifying sources.The new policy aims for three or four projects each year with total generation capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW), from the financial year starting in April 2021 until fiscal 2030/2031…
Toshiba Delivers Fuel Cell System to Ship
The provider of energy industry solutions Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) announced that the company has delivered a mobile 30kW hydrogen fuel cell system, which volume per unit power output is reduced to 1/3 compared to the stationary fuel cell systems, to a fuel cell ship.The fuel cell ship, which passed the Temporary Navigation Permit Inspection of Japan Craft Inspection Organization on October 30, has started demonstrations of the verification…
MOL Gets AIP for Wind Challenger Design
Japan’s shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Oshima Shipbuilding have jointly obtained Approval in Principle (AIP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for the design of a hard sail system.The system converts wind energy to propulsive force with telescopic hard sail, and is a fundamental technology of the "Wind Challenger Project" that MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding are spearheading.Along with other participating organizations, MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding have played a central role in research and development on the Wind Challenger Project…
MOL Trials LNG-Fuelled Tugboat at Kobe
Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has taken part in the first bunkering of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into a tugboat at the Port of Kobe, Japan.At the Port of Kobe, the tugboat “Ishin” was bunkered with LNG. It is the first LNG-fuelled tugboat in Japan and it is operated by a MOL group subsidiary, Nihon Tug-Boat.LNG fuel for the trial was hauled by a tanker truck from the Himeji LNG Plant of Osaka Gas, and, via a truck-to-ship system, was used to supply Ishin, berthed at Kobe Port’s Shinko Pier No.4. MOL Marine Co.
MOL's LNG-Fueled Tug Begins Bunkering
Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) that its LNG-fueled tugboat 'Ishin' bunkered LNG fuel in Sakai Senboku Port for the first time, in preparation for test operation.MOL ordered the vessel from Kanagawa Dockyard. This is the first bunkering of LNG as a vessel fuel at any port in the Kansai region.The LNG fuel was supplied by Osaka Gas using a truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure. The truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure supplies LNG fuel from an LNG truck on shore.After test sailing with LNG fuel…
CNPC, Guangdong Ink Deal on S. China Sea Methane Hydrate
China's Ministry of Land and Resources, state energy giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Guangdong province have agreed to build a pilot methane hydrate project in the South China Sea, CNPC said its website on Monday. The trial prospecting of the deep-sea gas resource, also known as "flammable ice", will be in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea, after initial tests run in May, CNPC said. The report did not give further details on the timeline or financial investment on developing this pilot project.
Ship of the Year Award for NYK Vessel
Japan's first LNG-fueled ship, Sakigake, which is a tugboat owned by NYK has been recognized with a Technology Special Award at the 2015 Ship of the Year Awards sponsored by the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE). An awards ceremony was held on July 7 at the Kaiun Club in Tokyo. This is the 26th year that JASNAOE has recognized the most technically advanced, well-designed, and socially conscious vessels built in Japan, and Sakigake was noted by manufacturers and related organizations for the tugboat’s environmental performance…
NYK Joins Study for LNG Bunkering in Yokohama
NYK is participating in a study launched by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to explore the feasibility of LNG bunkering in Yokohama. This study is examining the technological and infrastructural requirements for establishment of an LNG bunkering hub at the port of Yokohama to supply LNG as fuel to ships. A kick-off meeting of the study’s steering committee was held on June 9 for the creation of a facility development plan by the end of the year.
CNOOC Taps S.China Sea Deepwater Gas Well
China's CNOOC Ltd said on Friday tapped the country's first ultra-deepwater natural gas discovery in the northwestern part of the South China Sea. The state-owned offshore oil and gas explorer started to drill the Lingshui 18-1-1 exploration well last October in water depths of 1,688 metres (5,538 feet) and a test of the well in December was a success, the company said in a report published on the website of parent company China National Offshore Oil Corp (www.cnooc.com.cn). An "ultra-deep" well is categorized as one more than 1,500 metres under the sea.
China to Allow Non-State Bids for Xinjiang Oil Blocks
China will allow private domestic enterprises to bid for a handful of oil and gas blocks in the far-western region of Xinjiang, the Ministry of Land and Resources said on Tuesday, in an attempt to attracted diversified investment. Six blocks in oil-rich Xinjiang will be offered as part of a trial, the ministry said in a statement on its website. "There are plans to invite bids on blocks from the society in stages," the statement said, in a reference to non-state-owned firms.
DNV GL Wins KOGAS TQ Contract
DNV GL Korea, the technical advisor to the oil and gas industry, has been awarded a technology qualification (TQ) contract with Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) for a FEED Package for a 5MTPA onshore LNG liquefaction plant based on the innovative KSMR liquefaction process. KSMR is a new natural gas liquefaction process and is for LNG plants and floating LNG due to its compactness. A pilot KSMR LNG liquefaction plant of 100 tonnes per day is being constructed by KOGAS to verify the operability and the efficiency at the Incheon LNG receiving terminal in Korea.
First Solar-Power-Assisted Vessel in Development
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Yasumi Kudo), Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI; head office: Kobe-shi, Hyogo Prefecture; president: Satoshi Hasegawa), the Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Yutaka Yasunaga), and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; chairman and president: Noboru Ueda) are to begin in June shipboard tests to verify the effects of a jointly developed hybrid power supply system for vessels.
