MOL orders more LNG-powered car carriers

Japan’s shipping giant MOL has ordered two more LNG-powered car carriers at compatriot Nihon Shipyard. A spokesperson for MOL confirmed the order to LNG Prime for two LNG-powered vessels with a capacity of 7,000 units.

MOL now has six LNG-powered car carriers with a capacity of 7,000 units at Nihon, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not provide the delivery dates for the vessels or any additional information.

Brokers said that Nihon is expected to deliver these two new carriers in 2026. Besides these six vessels, MOL also has four LNG-powered car carriers with the same capacity on order at Shin Kurushima Dockyard.

In August 2021, MOL placed orders for four LNG-powered vessels at the two compatriot yards and added four more in May 2022. MOL will take delivery of these vessels between 2024 and 2025.

VesselsValue data shows that MOL will pay $95 million per vessel for the order at Nihon in May 2022. MOL said that all of these car carriers will adopt the “Blue” series name and new hull color design.

The shipping firm previously said that it plans to have 90 LNG-fueled vessels in its fleet by 2030. However, these 90 vessels now also include methanol-powered ships. MOL recently signed a basic agreement with Kambara Kisen to charter a newbuilding methanol dual-fuel bulk carrier.