Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that on July 3, its group MOL Coastal Shipping, Ltd. 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, according to the company's release.
The Daiichi Meta Maru is Japan's first domestic coastal vessel to use environmentally friendly methanol fuel, and is a state-of-the-art vessel equipped with the most advanced energy-saving devices and 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, and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which cause acid rain, in addition to sulfur oxides (SOx), compared to the heavy fuel oil used by conventional merchant ships.