Page 172 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2023

TECHNOLOGY & SHIPBUILDING

A DEMONSTRATION TEST SHIP FOR ries, the Sunflower Murasaki, owned by MOL and
LIQUEFIED CΟ2 TRANSPORT operated by its group company Ferry Sunflower
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. recently held a Co., Ltd, entered service on April 14. The vessel
launch ceremony for a demonstration test ship for is a sister ship to the Sunflower Kurenai, which
the transport of liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO₂), began operation in January and will ply the Osa-
to be utilized in conjunction with initiatives by the ka-Beppu route between Sunflower Ferry Ter-
New Energy and Industrial Technology Develop- minal and Beppu International Tourist Port as a
ment Organization (NEDO) for its demonstration replacement for the existing vessel Sunflower
projects (CCUS R&D and Demonstration Related Cobalt.
Project / Large-scale CCUS Demonstration in Compared to earlier ferries, the new vessel offers
Tomakomai / Demonstration Project on CO₂ Trans- greater transport capacity and convenience for
portation / R&D and Demonstration Project for cargo and passenger transport. In freight trans-
CO₂ Marine Transportation). The ceremony, con- portation, it has a greater capacity to load trucks
ducted in the presence of representatives of and provides a larger, more comfortable room for
the ship’s owner Sanyu Kisen Co., Ltd. and other truck drivers. In addition, the floor area of the
partners, was held at the Enoura Plant of MHI’s Grand Bathroom has been doubled, the number of
Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Shi- seats in the restaurant has increased by 1.5 times,
monoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. and spacious and open public areas, including a
The Engineering Advancement Association of three-layer atrium, have been added.
Japan (ENAA), one of the consignees for the
NEDO demonstration projects, will charter the GTT, TOTALENERGIES, LMG MARIN
ship from Sanyu Kisen and install and operate AND BUREAU VERITAS JOIN FORCES TO
the LCO₂ marine tank system used to conduct DEVELOP A LARGE-SCALE LH2 CARRIER
research and development. Furthermore, three GTT, TotalEnergies, LMG Marin and Bureau Ver-
additional project partners, Kawasaki Kisen itas have signed an agreement for a Joint Devel-
Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE), Nippon Gas Line Co., Ltd., opment Project (JDP) to develop a 150,000 m3
and Ochanomizu University, will be commissioned capacity liquid hydrogen (LH2) carrier concept
by ENAA to conduct R&D on the pressure control design fitted with GTT’s membrane-type contain-
and stability of the LCO₂ transported on the ship, ment system.
and plan demonstration experiments, as well as Low-carbon hydrogen offers a promising solution
develop and demonstrate technologies for safe to decarbonise hard-to-electrify industries, as
and low-cost CO₂ transport. well as heavy-duty terrestrial mobility, long-dis-
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding is in charge of all aspects tance aviation and maritime shipping. Hydrogen is
from the ship design through construction, includ- also a solution for large-scale energy storage and
ing the cargo containment system, applying its could be used to generate distributable power to
gas handling technologies and expertise culti- complement intermittent solar and wind power
vated through the construction of liquefied gas sources. In the future, continents such as Europe
carriers (for both LPG and LNG types). or some Asian countries may need to import
Carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage hydrogen on a large scale to complement domes-
(CCUS) is gaining attention as an effective means tic production.
of achieving a carbon-neutral society. Because The ability to transport by sea very large volumes
the sources of CO₂ emissions are often located of hydrogen in liquefied form at -253°C is one of
distant from the sites selected for carbon utiliza- the major technological challenges to be over-
tion or storage, demand is expected to increase come to set up a reliable, efficient and competi-
for LCO₂ carriers able to transport such cargo tive global carbon-free hydrogen value chain.
safely and economically. Mitsubishi Shipbuild- The JDP partners will leverage their combined
ing will draw on its experience constructing this expertise and know-how to develop a large-scale
vessel to bolster its business for MHI Group’s LH2 carrier concept that can be implemented on
energy transition strategy. In addition, it will an industrial scale for the maritime transport of
develop the various technologies for LCO₂ ves- liquefied hydrogen.
sels necessary to establish a CCUS value chain. -TotalEnergies will work on defining the vessel’s
specifications including operational profile;
THE SECOND OF JAPAN’S FIRST -GTT will design the membrane containment
TWO LNG-FUELED FERRIES ENTERED system, considering the constraints related to
SERVICE liquefied hydrogen;
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. recently announced that -LMG Marin will define the concept design of
the second of Japan’s first two LNG-fueled fer- the LH2 carrier adapted to TotalEnergies’ speci-

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