Japan’s LNG bunker tanker completes 100th LNG bunker operation

An LNG bunker tanker operated by Japan-based Central LNG Marine Fuel has completed its 100th ship-to-ship (STS) bunker operation with a stem delivery to NYK Line's car carrier Sakura Leader.PHOTO: Bunker tanker Kaguya delivers an LNG stem to NYK Line's car carrier Sakura Leader. NYK Line

The operation was performed by the vessel Kaguya, which delivered an unspecified amount of LNG to NYK Line's car carrier Sakura Leader at Mikawa Port, Japan.

Central LNG Marine Fuel is a joint venture established by shipping firms NYK Line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), power generation company JERA and others.

Kaguya, Japan's first LNG bunkering vessel, began operations in October 2020, according to K Line.

LNG is “a promising marine fuel to replace heavy fuel oil in response to increasingly stringent international regulations on ship exhaust gases,” NYK Line claims.

LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a greenhouse gas (GHG) compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank study.

By Tuhin Roy

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