Japan's Idemitsu undertakes first carbon-neutral VLCC voyage

Japan's second largest refiner Idemitsu Kosan said Nov. 12 it has made its maiden carbon-neutral round trip voyage between Japan and the Middle East on the VLCC Nissho Maru, with an eye to reduce CO2 emissions from bunker fuel consumption.

According to Idemitsu, the voyage on the Nissho Maru was carried out by its wholly owned subsidiary, Idemitsu Tanker, which is engaging closely with customers and stakeholders in reducing its carbon footprint in shipping.

Idemitsu said the round trip between Japan and unspecified locations in the Middle East used 10,000 mt of CO2 emissions equivalent by carbon credits.

The company intends to carry out more carbon-neutral voyages via ships as part of its efforts toward carbon neutrality, an Idemitsu spokesperson said.

For its maiden voyage, its trading arm in Singapore had purchased the carbon credits, which had been issued by third-party, internationally-recognized standards in voluntary carbon markets such as Verra's Verified Carbon Standard and the Gold Standard. These credits are also CORSIA-eligible.

With its 2050 carbon neutrality target, Idemitsu aims to cut 4 million mt of its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by fiscal year 2030-2031 (April-March), from FY 2017-18 levels, double the 2 million mt target announced in November 2019, the company said in May.

In FY 2019-20, Idemitsu said its scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions reached 12.9 million mt, with its customers' Scope 3 CO2 emissions at 117.7 million mt.

Idemitsu is Japan's second-largest refiner with a combined 1.09 million b/d of capacity over seven group refineries in Japan. Idemitsu is also a producer of oil, gas and coal.