NYK gets the world’s largest LNG car carrier

Tokyo - Japan’s NYK shipping group has placed an order for the world largest pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) capable of navigating oceans with only LNG as the main fuel. The ship is scheduled to be delivered in 2020 and will be the first large LNG-fueled PCTC to be built in Japan.

To minimize a reduction in vehicle loading capacity caused by the installation of LNG fuel tanks, in addition to optimizing major items such as ship width, several designs for maximizing the cargo loading space will be implemented, and the new vessel will be able to transport approximately 7,000 units (standard vehicle equivalent) per voyage.

With the support by Japan’s Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for its model project to reduce CO2 emissions by using alternative fuel, the vessel will be installed with the technology to reduce further CO2 emissions and the experimental verification in its actual voyage will be scheduled.

The ship will be about 40% more energy efficient (reducing CO2 emissions per unit of transport), far exceeding the International Maritime Organization (IMO) EEDI phase 3 requirements that will become effective in 2025. The vessel is additionally expected to reduce sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions by approximately 99% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by approximately 86% compared to conventional heavy oil–fired engines.

Air pollution by ship exhaust gas has become an important challenge, and environmental regulations surrounding the shipping industry are being strengthened year by year as environmental awareness increases. LNG fuel can be expected to significantly reduce emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases compared to C heavy oil, which is a common marine fuel, and thus meet the SOx Global Cap regulations set by the IMO, scheduled to become effective in January 2020.