MOL to build first LNG-fueled tugboat in Japan

The tug, which will be able to run entirely on liquified natural gas, will be constructed at Kanagawa Dockyard Co. and MOL expects to deploy it by April 2019, the Japanese ocean carrier said in a statement.    Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) plans to build a tugboat that will run entirely on liquified natural gas (LNG), the company said Tuesday.
   The tug is slated for construction at Kanagawa Dockyard Co., headquartered in Kobe, with the LNG-fueled engines supplied by Osaka-based Yanmar Co. MOL said it expects to deploy the ship by April 2019.
   Osaka Gas Co. will provide LNG fuel for the tugboat, and although it will be owned by MOL, the tug will be operated by Nihon Tug-Boat Co.
   The new tug will be deployed in Osaka Bay and MOL said it expects the vessel to spur the initial development of an LNG fuel supply system for ship in the bay.
   “The tugboat will be built as an element of ‘ISHIN NEXT ~ MOL SMART SHIP PROJECT,’ and knowledge and expertise gained through the tugboat’s development and operation will be fed back to various types of LNG-fueled ships including the environment-friendly ferry (ISHIN-II),” the company said.
   “The construction of this tugboat also reflects MOL’s proactive stance in promoting LNG fuel through technological development of LNG-fueled vessels and enhancement of safe operation,” it added.
   The LNG-fueled tugboat  will be the first the vessel in Japan to conform to the IGF code issued in January 2017. The vessel will be subject to examination by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, MOL said.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated the LNG-fueled tugboat was the first of its kind in Japan, not the first to be built that will conform to the IGF code.