In Japan, a project to develop the world’s first tanker powered by liquefied hydrogen is pressing ahead.
ClassNK has issued an approval in principle (AiP) for a design concept of a small hydrogen-fuelled oil tanker with an electric propulsion system developed by domestic tanker owner Uyeno Transtech, Yanmar, and Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding.
The ship was designed as part of a zero-emission ships project sponsored by the Nippon Foundation.
Last year ClassNK granted Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), along with yards Onomichi Dockyard, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) an approval in principle (AiP) for a multipurpose ship, the world’s first AiP certification for a ship equipped with a low speed two-stroke hydrogen-fuelled engine as the main propulsion engine.
Japan’s Basic Hydrogen Strategy has identified hydrogen as the alternative to fossil fuels as it targets decarbonisation.
