JAPANESE shipping line NYK has taken delivery of Plumeria Leader, a new ro-ro vessel that can run entirely on liquefied natural gas.
Plumeria Leader will have the capacity to transport around 7000 standard vehicle equivalent units per voyage.
The vessel was built at the Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding dockyard in Japan.
NYK expects the LNG-fuelled carrier to be around 40% more energy efficient than vessels using conventional heavy oil-fired engines.
It is also expected to reduce sulphur oxide emissions by around 99% and nitrogen oxide emissions by around 86%.
NYK said in a statement it has set a long-term target of net-zero emissions by 2050 and is positioning LNG fuel as a bridge solution until future zero-emission ships become a reality.
“As soon as technological innovation progresses, NYK aim to switch zero-emission vessels utilising low-emission marine fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia,” the company said.
Plumeria Leader is the second of two LNG-fuelled carriers operating under NYK, the first of which, Sakura Leader, was built in 2020.
By 2028, NYK plans to have expanded its fleet to include 20 new LNG-fuelled vessels.
A delivery ceremony for the latest addition was attended by NYK senior managing executive officer Takaya Soga, and Toyota Motor Corporation TPS Group chief officer Kyogo Onoue.
“The ship was named Plumeria Leader to express our wish to realise and pass on a rich global environment through environmentally friendly transportation and to leave beautiful flowers to the future,” NYK said in the statement.
