The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Ports and Harbours Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism of Japan (MLIT) will form a working group to conduct a feasibility study on LNG bunkering for car carriers plying between Japan and Singapore.
The working group will include Japanese shipping companies Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).
The study will focus on the technical details such as fuel tank capacities and refuelling requirements to assess the feasibility of running LNG-fuelled car carriers between Japan and Singapore.
“Shipping can be less pollutive and the International Maritime Organization has introduced a 0.5% global sulphur cap by 2020. This is an opportunity for Singapore and Japan to co-lead in a global search for solutions to make shipping greener. In particular, the joint study on the feasibility of LNG bunkering for car carriers between Japan and Singapore offers great promise. It extends bilateral cooperation to shipping and raises bilateral cooperation to new level,” said Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Transport of Singapore.
“I believe that Singapore, the world’s top bunkering port, and Japan, the world’s top LNG importer, have the responsibility to contribute to the development of global shipping through jointly promoting the use of LNG as marine fuel,” said Keiichi Ishii, Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Japanese lines have taken the lead with LNG-fuelled car carriers at the behest of key clients such as Toyota and Honda. Jointly owned by NYK and Norway’s Wallenius Lines, United European Car Carriers operates the only two LNG-fuelled car carriers in the world, Auto ECO and Auto Energy. The two vessels were delivered to UECC by Chinese yard NACKS last year.
