NYK conducts Japan’s first STS LNG bunkering

Kaguya, launched in September, is Japan’s first LNGBV operated by Central LNG Marine Fuel Japan Corporation, which is a joint venture company between NYK, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line), JERA and Toyota Tsusho Corporation. The vessel will be based at Kawagoe Thermal Power Station and will soon begin supplying LNG fuel to ships in the Chubu region using STS bunkering.

NYK Line said Sakura Leader, the PCTC that received the LNG fuel, is the first large LNG-fuelled ship to be built at a shipyard in Japan. The vessel is scheduled to be delivered in late October and will be one of the largest PCTCs in the world, capable of transporting approximately 7,000 units.

LNG has gained traction in the industry as companies seek to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2015, Japan’s first LNG-fuelled ship, the tugboat Sakigake, was delivered to NYK Line and the company hopes to receive the world’s first large LNG-fuelled coal carrier by 2023.