Marine technology company Wartsila will supply a complete liquefied natural gas (LNG) package for two ferries that are being constructed for Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) subsidiary Ferry Sunflower.
The LNG package will include the Wartsila 31DF engine, gearbox, and LNGPac storage, supply and control system.
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The vessels are under construction at Mitsubishi’s Shimonoseki shipyard in Japan.
The high-efficiency Wartsila 31DF dual-fuel engine will offer safe and continuous gas mode operation.
Wartsila Japan area sales manager Keisuke Yasutake said: “Wartsila’s vast experience and know-how in LNG solutions for the marine sector is again recognised with this landmark order for the first Japanese built LNG-fuelled ferries.
“We are able to offer LNG-based products and systems having a proven design and high performance, with a strong reference list that supports our value proposition.”
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By GlobalDataMOL Technical Division general manager Makoto Yamaguchi said: “MOL is dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of its business activities and these two ferries are being built in line with that objective. By operating on LNG they will have a greatly reduced carbon footprint and the high-performance Wartsila engine fits our requirements perfectly.”
The vessels Sunflower Kurenai and Sunflower Murasaki will be 200m-long and can accommodate 763 passengers, 136 trucks and 100 passenger cars and operate at speeds of 22.5k.
The vessels will start operating on the Osaka – Beppu route in 2023.
Last week, Wartsila received a contract from Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) subsidiary Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) to upgrade its four vessels.
