19SEP2019 - NEWS - LNG-fueled Tugboat Ishin Undergoes 1st LNG Bunkering Trial in Port of Kobe

LNG-fueled Tugboat Ishin Undergoes 1st LNG Bunkering Trial in Port of Kobe – Contributing to Development of LNG Bunkering Ports and Wider Use of LNG as Marine Fuel

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) announced that it has participated in the LNG bunkering trial at the Port of Kobe yesterday, organized by the Kobe City Port and Harbor Authority, and carried out bunkering on the LNG-fueled tugboat Ishin (Note 1). Ishin is a tugboat owned by MOL and operated by Nihon-Tug-Boat Co., Ltd. (President: Tetsuro Nishio, Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Kobe). This marks the first LNG bunkering in the Port of Kobe, and the successful trial confirmed that LNG fuel can be effectively supplied safely at the port.

LNG fuel for the trial was hauled by a tanker truck from the Himeji LNG Plant (Himeji-shi, Hyogo Prefecture) of Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (President: Takehiro Honjo, Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Osaka), and, via a truck-to-ship system (Note 2), was used to supply Ishin, berthed at Kobe Port’s Shinko Pier No.4. MOL Marine Co., Ltd. (President: Shunichi Inaoka; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) has also provided maritime consulting in the trial.