Osaka Bay goes green with first LNG tug

Mitsui O.S.K Lines., Ltd’s (MOL) Ishin tug was completed at Kobe Port in February 2019. Yanmar supplied two marine dual fuel engines (6EY26DF), as well as the fuel supply system which included the LNG fuel tank, buffer tank, and gas fuel device. Kanagawa Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., the largest tugboat manufacturer in Japan constructed the vessel, and Nippon Tug-boat Co., Ltd., a group company of MOL handles operation.

“This ship realizes our corporate philosophy of reducing environmental load, and was launched to meet the demands of the times for global environmental conservation,” said Koichi Yashima, managing executive officer of MOL. “We would like to learn from the operation of this vessel and expand the LNG-related business.”

Cutting emissions

In the gas mode of the engine, NOx is reduced by about 80%, PM is reduced by about 99%, and CO2 is reduced by about 25% when compared with the exhaust of Yanmar’s IMO secondary regulation compliant diesel engine. The gas mode also clears the IMO tertiary regulation for NOx reduction.

A notable feature of the tug is that the LNG fuel tank is placed on the rear deck of the ship and is a removable structure, which improves convenience during fuel supply and maintenance inspection.

MOL and Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. will establish the first LNG fuel supply system for ships in Osaka Bay at Sakai Senboku Port, and LNG fuel will be supplied truck-to-ship from an LNG tanker landside.