Japanese LNG-Fuelled Bulk Carrier Gets Design Approval

Japanese classification society ClassNK has granted an approval in principle (AiP) to NYK Line and Japan Marine United (JMU) for their joint project on the concept design of an LNG-fuelled 200K DWT bulk carrier, NYK Line said July 5.

The basic design was created by JMU based on designs of 200K DWT heavy-oil-fueled bulk carrier which JMU has designed up to current. Combining the GHG emissions resulting from ship design together with the use of LNG fuel, the ship will be able to lower its Energy Efficient Design Index, or EEDI defined by International Maritime Organization (IMO), by about 40%, exceeding the Phase 0 to Phase 3 reduction of 30%, a reduction that had been considered to be difficult for a large bulk carrier to attain, NYK Line said, adding that this design can contribute to the IMO strategy of a 40% improvement in the global shipping industry’s fuel efficiency by 2030.

Also, the arrangement of the LNG-fuel tank and the LNG-fuel supply-system equipment allows the ship to increase its cargo-hold volume and reduce fuel consumption in comparison to a conventional bulk carrier of the same size, despite the weight increase caused by additional equipment, NYK Line said.

Studies suggest that use of LNG as a main fuel can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO₂ by approximately 30% in comparison to a bulk carrier of the same size using conventional heavy oil. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are also cut by as much as 80%, and sulfur oxides (SOx) by almost 100%.

NYK and JMU can now begin negotiations with customers for large LNG-fuelled vessels capable of reducing environmental loads, NYK Line stated.