TOKYO: NYK 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.

A keel laying ceremony was held on September 20 at Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., and NYK Managing Corporate Officer Takaya Soga and other related parties were in attendance. 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.

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.

From an early stage, the NYK Group has been steadily moving toward using LNG as a propulsion fuel. In fact, in 2016 the group built the world's first LNG-fueled car carrier. That ship entered into service in 2017, and just last year the company began issuing green bonds to finance LNG-fueled ships and LNG bunkering vessels, among other green financing projects.

NYK will continue to actively work to reduce its environmental burden and realize a sustainable society, as designated in the company’s medium-term management plan “Staying Ahead 2022 with Digitalization and Green.”