OVER THE EASTER WEEKEND Mitsui OSK Lines held a naming and delivery ceremony for the LNG-fuelled Capesize bulker Verde Heraldo and the 210,321 DWT vessel is now en route to Australia to load iron ore.
The formalities were held at the Saijo Shipyard of Imabari Shipbuilding, with the naming undertaken by Masayuki Hirose, president and CEO of the company by which Verde Heraldo (‘green pioneer’ in Spanish) will operate under a long-term contract of affreightment, JFE Steel Corporation. MOL executives including president & CEO Takeshi Hashimoto were also on hand for the ceremony.
Verde Heraldo will transport raw materials for JFE Steel’s mills, providing both reduced environmental impact and safe and reliable marine transport services, MOL said.
After departing from Saijo Shipyard, LNG fuel was supplied directly to the vessel through shore-to-ship bunkering at the Senboku Terminal (Osaka Prefecture) of Osaka Gas Co., Ltd., and then sailed from Sakai yesterday [21 April] for Port Walcott, WA.
Verde Heraldo has a length overall of 299.99 metres, breadth of 50.00 metres, and draft of 18.436 metres. Registered owner is Registered owner Erica Navigation SA with MOL as managers, and the ship is sailing under the Liberia flag.
Last month in Singapore MOL completed the successful bunkering of its Capesize bulker Midnight Dream with about 1,000 tonnes of a biodiesel-blended marine fuel (biofuel) in a first collaboration with BHP Group.
The biofuel is made from organic resources (biomass) of biological origin, such as agricultural residues and waste cooking oil: in this instance the biofuel was a blend of about 24% biodiesel (B24) with Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), by which about 750 tons of CO2 emission is expected to be cut down.
