Japanese MOL Tugboat Completes FIrst LNG Bunkering

Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) January 31 announced that its LNG-fuelled tugboat Ishin bunkered LNG fuel at Sakai Senboku port for the first time.

This is the first bunkering of LNG as a vessel fuel at any port in the Kansai region. The LNG was supplied by Osaka Gas using a truck-to-ship LNG bunkering procedure. After test sailing, the Ishin is slated for delivery in late-February and will start operation in April as the first LNG-fuelled tugboat serving Osaka Bay, MOL said. The Ishin will be operated by Nihon Tug-Boat Co.

MOL said it has worked with the Osaka Prefecture Port and Harbor Bureau and Osaka Gas to develop an LNG fuel supply system for ships in Sakai Senboku port.