Mitsui O.S.K. Lines teamed up with five companies to study a liquefied natural gas-fueled Capesize bulker.
The Japanese company joined forces with BHP Billiton, DNV GL, Rio Tinto, Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) and Woodside Energy.
The letter of agreement between the six companies was signed ver the past weekend in Singapore.
The joint research project, called Green Corridor, aims to reduce merchant vessels’ emissions of NOX and SOX in advance of international treaties calling for stricter emissions standards and will examine the technological and economic feasibility of an LNG-fueled bulker.
Under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) treaty, vessels are required to use bunker fuel with a sulfur content of 0.1 percent or less in Emission Control Areas.
In general sea areas (all excluding ECAs), the treaty is expected to reduce the maximum sulfur content of bunker in use from the current standard 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent in 2020.