MOL’s third LNG-powered ferry, Sunflower Kamuy, has entered service on the Oarai-Tomakomai route in Japan.
This is the first of two LNG-fueled ferries MOL ordered at Naikai Zosen in February 2022.
The vessel was named and launched in April last year.
The LNG-powered ferry, owned by MOL and operated by its group company Ferry Sunflower, started serving the route between the Ibaraki prefecture and Hokkaido as a replacement for the ferry Sunflower Daisetsu, MOL said on Wednesday.
Also, the second of the two new vessels built by Nakai Zosen, Sunflower Pirika, is scheduled to enter service on the same route in early summer 2025, according to MOL.
With the addition of these vessels, MOL will operate a fleet of four LNG-fueled ferries on east-west routes in Japan by 2025, joining the Sunflower Kurenai and Sunflower Murasaki, which went into service on the Osaka-Beppu route in 2023.
MOL has set a target to operate 90 LNG-powered and methanol-fueled vessels by 2030.
The company large fleet of LNG carriers also expanded to 100 vessels as of the end of September 2024.
