The Japanese are pressing ahead with the development of liquefied CO2 carriers. The Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA) and local owner Sanyu Kisen have signed a bareboat charter contract for a demonstration test ship.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been tasked with building the ship, which will feature special tanks designed by ENAA.
Upon building completion and delivery in the second half of next year, ENAA will charter the demonstration test ship from Sanyu Kisen to carry out research and development and demonstration tests in a project that also includes Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Nippon Gas Line and Ochanomizu University.
The many nascent seaborne trades such as liquefied CO2 or hydrogen have given ailing Japanese shipyards a shot in the arm. Japanese shipbuilders were the pioneers for much of the liquefied gas carrier design breakthroughs of the 1970s and 1980s, something they aim to replicate as the world transitions to new energy forms.
