Japanese MOL announced that its LNG-fueled tugboat ‘Ishin’ bunkered LNG fuel in Sakai Senboku Port for the first time, in preparation for test operation, marking is the first bunkering of LNG as a marine fuel at any port in the Kansai region.
In March 2017, MOL ordered the vessel from Kanagawa Dockyard Co., Ltd., as the first LNG-fueled tugboat in Japan conforming to the IGF code.
The LNG fuel was supplied by Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. using a truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure. After test sailing with LNG fuel, the Ishin is slated for delivery in late February, and will start operation in April as the first LNG-fueled tugboat serving Osaka Bay. The Ishin will be operated by Nihon Tug-Boat Co., Ltd.
Working closely with the Osaka Prefecture Port and Harbor Bureau and Osaka Gas, MOL has worked to develop an LNG fuel supply system for ships in Sakai Senboku Port, which will be the first in Osaka Bay, through development of the Ishin.
As part of its efforts to widen the use of LNG as a marine fuel, MOL established the Bunker Business Office (now Division) to accelerate its initiatives on LNG and other alternative vessel fuels, and is taking an integrated approach to entering the business of supplying LNG and other fuels.
