KEYS Bunkering West Japan and compatriot Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), have concluded a contract for the construction of a 3,500 cu m liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel, the first to operate in western Japan.
The vessel will be built at the Enoura Plant at MHI’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi prefecture, with completion and delivery scheduled for March 2024.
The planned LNG bunkering vessel will have an electric main engine and be equipped with a dual-fuel engine capable of using both LNG and heavy oil as fuel.
KEYS, an acronym for Kyushu, Enex, Yusen, and Saibu, is a joint venture company established in February of this year to supply LNG fuel for ships in the Kyushu and Setouchi regions, with investments from Kyushu Electric Power Company at 40%, Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) at 40%, Itochu Enex at 15%, and Saibu Gas at 5%.
