MOL launches hybrid passenger ship in Japan

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has launched its hybrid passenger ship that can run on both hydrogen and biodiesel.

PHOTO: Concept design of MOL’s hybrid passenger ship Hanaria. MOL

The hybrid passenger vessel, Hanaria, is “Japan’s first hybrid passenger ship” and can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 53-100% compared to vessels that run on conventional fossil fuels, MOL claims.

The ship has three operating modes - hydrogen fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, and biodiesel, MOL adds.

However, the company has not disclosed whether the hydrogen to be used will be brown/grey (produced with fossil fuels) or green (produced with renewable energy), which will have implications on its carbon dioxide reduction potential.

MOL has not shared much insight into the nature of the biofuel to be used or the share of it blended into oil-based bunker fuels.

The ship has been ordered by ferry service provider MOTENA-Sea – a unit of MOL. The vessel is currently under construction at Hongawara Ship Yard.

The vessel is slated to be delivered in March 2024 and is expected to start operating in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture in April 2024.

By Tuhin Roy

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