MOL signs contracts for six large LNG-fueled vessels
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. has announced its intent to build four Capesize bulkers and two Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) tankers, which will use environment-friendly liquefied natural gas (LNG) as their main fuel, and signed deals for construction with shipbuilding companies.
The company signed a deal for construction of four 210,000 DWT-class Capesize bulkers with CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. This is MOL's first time to order newbuilding vessel from this shipyard. The new ships are slated for delivery in succession from 2025 through 2026.
MOL also concluded a contract for construction of two 309,000 DWT-class VLCCs with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. This new ordered VLCC will be built by Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd. jointly operated by KHI and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited. This is the first LNG-fueled VLCC ordered from a Japanese tanker operator. The newbuilding VLCCs are scheduled for delivery from 2025 through 2026.
MOL Group has ordered 16 ocean-going LNG-fueled vessels which includes these Capesize bulkers and VLCCs, in addition to car carriers, bulkers, and six coastal vessels which are ferries, tugboat, and coastal cargo vessel. It will further continue to widen the use of LNG fuel as an initiative that it can take now, to accelerate toward the complete elimination of GHG emissions.
