TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced today that it has joined the Methane Abatement in Maritime Innovation Initiative (MAMII) as a major Partner.
The initiative is led by Safetytech Accelerator being a non-profit established by Lloyd’s Register and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation. MAMII was formed in September 2022 and currently 14 companies have joined. MAMII is to identify, accelerate and advocate technology solutions to measure and manage methane emissions activity.
MAMII is also to survey the institutional and industry regulatory requirements on methane emissions, to explore the current technology and practice landscape for methane monitoring, reporting and verification onboard and for methane abatement onboard and to build on experience and knowledge sharing in the area of the LNG supply chain.
According to MOL, compared with conventional marine heavy fuel oils, LNG (Liquefied natural gas, mainly methane) fuel is widely understood to generate about 25% less carbon dioxide (CO2). Hence the deployment of LNG fueled vessels is accelerating as an effective way of contributing from right now to the low-carbonization of ship operations.
On the other hand, MOL added that environmental benefits with CO2 reduction effect of using LNG is partially negated due to any methane released to the atmosphere (methane slip) in the process. Through activities in MAMII, MOL claimed it aims to minimize the environmental impact of methane slip in shipping whilst aiding to the transition to further low and decarbonization of LNG-fueled vessels.
