Japan's MOL aims to commission 'large' ammonia-fueled ammonia tanker in 2026

Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, or MOL, said Nov. 4 it aims to commission a "large" ammonia-fueled ammonia tanker in 2026 as part of its efforts to deploy net-zero emission ocean liners in the 2020s.

MOL will jointly develop the large ammonia-fueled ammonia tanker with Japan's Namura Shipbuilding and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding on a scale that would be accepted by the power generation sector, an MOL spokesperson said, declining to specify the size of the prospective tanker.

The move comes at a time when Japan sees great potential in fuel ammonia as a CO2 zero-emission fuel as the country aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by fiscal year 2030-31 (April-March) from the FY 2013-14 level and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Japan currently estimates the fuel ammonia demand for power generation will be 3 million mt/year in 2030 and expects it to grow to 30 million mt/year in 2050, equivalent to 1.5 times the current international trade of ammonia as a fertilizer, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Going net-zero

MOL, which plans to deliver the first pure battery coastal ship in 2022, now plans to deploy net-zero emission ocean-going vessels in the late 2020s and boost the number of ocean liners fueled by synthetic methane, ammonia, hydrogen and biodiesel to about 110 by 2035, the company said.

By 2030, MOL plans to introduce around 90 LNG-fueled ships, excluding LNG carriers.

MOL's 2035 target reduction by 45% in GHG emission intensity compares against the 2019 level. In fiscal 2019-20, MOL's Scope 1, 2 and 3 CO2 emissions totaled 14.889 million mt with a GHG emission intensity of 10.86 g CO2e/ton-mile.

MOL has earmarked about Yen 200 billion ($1.8 billion) in the three years from fiscal 2021-22 (April-March) to spend on decarbonization and low carbon businesses, including on LNG carriers, under its first budget focused on environmental strategies as it accelerates efforts toward carbon neutrality.

MOL, which has the world's largest LNG carrier fleet with 98 tankers -- as at March 31 -- sees growth in LNG as a low-carbon fuel for transport, and has been involved in LNG value chains through its power ship and floating storage regasification unit, or FSRU, businesses. MOL's LNG carrier fleet is due to expand further to 100 tankers by the end of March 2022.