Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) President & CEO Takeshi Hashimoto today announced that on July 3, its group MOL Coastal Shipping, Ltd. President Hiroshi Kobayashi held a naming and launching ceremony for a newbuilding coastal tanker, jointly owned by MOL Coastal Shipping, Tabuchi Kaiun Co., Ltd., and Niihama Kaiun Kabushiki Kaisha, at Kanasashi Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. of Murakami Hide Shipbuilding Group. The vessel was named the Daiichi Meta Maru and will transport methanol cargo for Mitsubishi Corporation.
The Daichi Meta Maru is Japan’s first domestic coastal vessel to use environmentally friendly methanol fuel. It is a state-of-the-art vessel with the most advanced energy-saving devices, operational support, and automated cargo handling systems. The vessel is scheduled for delivery from Kanasashi Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in December.
The use of methanol fuel reduces emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes global warming, nitrogen oxides (NOx), which cause acid rain, and sulfur oxides (SOx), compared to the heavy fuel oil used by conventional merchant ships.
The MOL Group will continue working to reduce the environmental impact of marine transport in cooperation with joint shipowners.