Newbuilding LNG Carrier for Osaka Gas Named LNG Juno

October 26, 2018

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) today announced that on October 25, a naming ceremony for a newbuilding LNG carrier for Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (President: Takehiro Honjo; headquarters: Osaka-shi, Osaka), was held at the Nagasaki Shipyard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI; President: Shunichi Miyanaga; headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo). The vessel was ordered by MOL's wholly-owned subsidiary MOG-X LNG Shipholding S.A.,

The vessel was named the LNG Juno by Osaka Gas President Honjo, and the rope was cut by his wife.

The hull design features the MHI-developed Sayaringo [saya (pea)-ringo (apple)] cargo tank, in which the individual tanks look like apples, with the upper semi-spheres larger than the lower semi-spheres. The tanks are beneath a continuous cover that looks something like a pea pod. This design maximizes cargo capacity, and the cover helps provide additional hull strength while reducing weight, which in turn saves fuel and reduces transport costs.

The vessel adopts a new class of steam turbine engine, which re-heats and uses steam used once in the turbine. It features MHI's state-of-the-art technology in the hybrid dual-shaft Steam Turbine and Gas Engines (STaGE) (Note) propulsion system, combined with a dual fuel diesel electric propulsion system. This is an environment-friendly, economically superior design, which achieves further reduction of fuel cost while minimizing CO₂ emissions.

The vessel will transport LNG that Osaka Gas purchases from the Freeport LNG Project in the United States and other suppliers.

The MOL Group draws upon its decades of experience and know-how as the world's leading LNG carrier owner and management company, and works aggressively to provide value-added LNG transport services tailored to the needs of customers, including electric power and gas companies in Japan.

[ Outline of LNG Juno ]

(Note)
Heat efficiency increases by collecting heat produced from the exhaust of the dual-fuel diesel electric propulsion engine, which runs on natural gas and heavy oil.