The world’s first LNG-fuelled Panamax-class coal carrier, which was being built by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc., was delivered on 2 October. The vessel was named ‘Shoyo’ in a naming ceremony held at the Koyagi Shipyard of Oshima Shipyard Co., Ltd, and began operations after completing the first bunkering.
NYK operates the vessel and transports coal from overseas to Kyuden’s coal-fired power plants. The use of LNG fuel offers excellent environmental performance compared with traditional marine fuels, virtually eliminating sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions, and reducing approximately 80% of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 30% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Shoyo received its LNG-fuel supply at the port of Tobata (Fukuoka Prefecture) on 12 October. Bunkering was carried out via shore-to-ship, which supplies fuel directly from the handling facility on shore to the vessel. This was the first shore-to-ship bunkering for an oceangoing LNG-fuelled vessel in Japan. The ship is designed to be compatible with both shore-to-ship and ship-to-ship bunkering, the latter of which is the supply of LNG fuel from an LNG bunkering vessel to a ship. From March 2024, a newly built LNG-fuelled bunkering vessel based in the Setouchi and Kyushu area could deliver LNG fuel through ship-to-ship bunkering.