MOL makes significant stride in developing hydrogen-powered ships

Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), along with yards Onomichi Dockyard, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) have conducted a risk assessment of a multipurpose vessel powered by hydrogen, which has been granted approval in principle (AiP) for the ship’s parcel layout concept from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).

This marks the world’s first AiP certification for a ship equipped with a low speed two-stroke hydrogen-fuelled engine as the main propulsion engine.

MOL, Japan’s largest shipowner by dwt, said a trial vessel will be launched in 2027 with two years of testing set to follow and the Japanese government backing the project. Tokyo has outlined its commitment to develop hydrogen as one of its most important energy sources in recent years.

Last month MOL joined forces with compatriot owners Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) as well as Kawasaki Heavy Industries and industrial gas firm Iwatani Corporation to develop hydrogen carriers together in a new company called JSE Ocean.

The country, via Kawasaki Heavy Industries, is already the pioneer of the seaborne hydrogen trades with the delivery of the Suiso Frontier, the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier. Now plans are afoot to supersize this first ship, and to get ships of up to 160,000 cu m on the water soon.

Japan’s Basic Hydrogen Strategy, revised by the Japanese government in June this year, identifies hydrogen as the alternative to fossil fuels as it targets decarbonisation. In the strategy Japan commits to a target of 3m tons a year of hydrogen by 2030, 12m tons a year by 2040, and 20m tons a year by 2050.

A first ship order from JSE Ocean is expected next year.

The many nascent seaborne trades such as liquefied CO₂ or hydrogen have given ailing Japanese shipyards a shot in the arm. Japanese shipbuilders were the pioneers for much of the liquefied gas carrier design breakthroughs of the 1970s and 1980s, something they aim to replicate as the world transitions to new energy forms.