Singapore, Japan to study LNG for car carriers
The bunkering study will focus on technical details such as fuel tank capacities and refuelling requirements
Singapore
THE Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is teaming up with its Japanese counterpart to start a feasibility study on liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering for car carriers plying between Japan and Singapore.
The feasibility study, announced at the inaugural Singapore and Japan Port Seminar 2017 held in Singapore on Monday, will focus on technical details such as fuel tank capacities and refuelling requirements. The working group will include Japan's big three carriers: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).
Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan said that the 0.5 per cent global sulphur cap that the International Maritime Organization is imposing by 2020 is an opportunity for Singapore and Japan to co-lead in a global search for solutions to make shipping greener.
"In particular, the joint study on the feasibility of LNG bunkering for car carriers between Japan and Singapore offers great promise," he said. "It extends bilateral cooperation to shipping and raises bilateral cooperation to a new level."
Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Keiichi Ishii believes that Singapore, the world's top bunkering port, and Japan, the world's top LNG importer, have the responsibility to contribute to the development of global shipping by jointly promoting the use of LNG as a marine fuel.
Both countries are ready to provide LNG bunkering operations using trucks. They are now looking to the next phase of LNG bunkering for ocean-going vessels.
The study will be one of the activities that MPA will jointly undertake with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan (MLIT) under a memorandum of cooperation that both signed in April this year. The agreement includes areas such as port planning, port management and technological development in the port sector.
Japan and Singapore are also part of an international focus group comprising 11 ports and maritime administrations across Asia, Europe and North America to cooperate on LNG bunkering.
MLIT late last year revealed a three-phase road map to develop a LNG bunkering hub in the port of Yokohama.
In Singapore, the MPA last year awarded bunkering licences to Pavilion Gas and FueLNG, a joint venture between Keppel Offshore & Marine and Shell.This year, it will start a three-year LNG bunkering pilot programme to test operational protocols, gain operational experience as well as strengthen Singapore's capabilities to ensure LNG bunkering is carried out safely and efficiently.
