Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line), Chubu Electric Power, Toyota Tsusho and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) collectively announced on May 10th that they’ve established two joint ventures to launch the LNG Bunkering business in Japan.
The joint ventures; Central LNG Marine Fuel Japan Corporation and Central LNG Shipping Japan Corporation; will run the LNG Bunkering Business in Japan. Furthermore, each of the four companies in the ventures will utilize the expertise and strengths that they each possess to propel the “Ship-to-Ship Bunkering” business. As per the announcement on January 26th this year, the four companies have been in joint discussions on the commercialization of LNG Bunkering Business in Chubu, which is the central region of the country.
While Central LNG Marine Fuel Japan Corporation will be managing LNG Bunkering Business; Central LNG Shipping Japan Corporation will be carrying out the ownership of the LNG Bunkering Vessel.
As known; LNG is expected to become an important alternative to heavy fuel oil due to its low emission rate of air polluting substances and greenhouse gases, which will enable ships to meet increasingly stringent international regulations on emissions. Compared to heavy fuel oil, the use of LNG can reduce emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM) by approximately 100 percent, nitrogen oxides (NOx) by as much as 80 percent, and carbon dioxide (CO2) by approximately 30 percent.
