NYK LINE has announced an agreement between NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers and Japanese ship operator Kambara Kisen for the time charter of a methanol dual-fuel bulk carrier.

The 200-metre length-overall vessel, currently under construction at the Tsuneishi Shipbuilding factory in Japan, is scheduled for delivery in autumn 2025, and will be the first methanol-fuelled bulk carrier operated by the NYK Group.

The bulker will have a dual-fuel main engine that can use both methanol and fuel oil, with the primary fuels expected to be bio-methanol and e-methanol, produced using hydrogen derived from renewable energy sources and recovered carbon dioxide.

Boasting the largest loading capacity of an Ultramax bulker, the vessel will have a general-purpose hull that can transport various cargoes, including grain and ore, and boasts a deadweight tonnage of 65 700 metric tonnes.

By using low-carbon methanol as fuel, the NYK Group says it aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers is a subsidiary of NYK Group, specialising in bulk carriers and bulk cargo transportation.

The agreement comes at the same time that NYK has also announced it will be granted the world’s first accreditation of Machinery Room Safety (MRS) for an ammonia-fuelled gas carrier.

A consortium including NYK and Nihon Shipyard are currently developing an ammonia-fuelled medium gas carrier, with the MRS to be granted by ClassNK.

An MRS is a class notation demonstrating that a vessel is equipped with excellent ammonia safety measures for the machinery room, and confirms the vessel meets the highest safety measures under the guidelines for ammonia-fuelled ships, says NYK.  

One of the biggest challenges in the ship’s development is to overcome toxicity in the machinery room, the shipping line says.

To receive an MRS notation, NYK states it is necessary to satisfy the optional functional requirement to minimise personal exposure to leaking ammonia in the machinery room.

The consortium of NYK and Nihon Shipyard is currently aiming for delivery of the ammonia-fuelled medium gas carrier by the end of November 2026, to be received from Japan Marine United Corporation’s Ariaka Shipyard. Vessel development is under the Green Innovation Fund Project by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, a 2 trillion-yen (AUD$20 billion) fund created to significantly accelerate transformation of the energy and industrial sector and innovation toward carbon neutrality by 2050.