Imabari Shipbuilding rolls out the red carpet for 7,000 CEU LNG-powered PCTC

July 2, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

Japan’s Imabari Shipbuilding has handed over a 7,000 CEU pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its owner.

As disclosed, the vessel, which has been named Angelite Ace, was delivered at the company’s Tadotsu Shipyard on July 1. The 18,473 dwt PCTC features an overall length of 199.93 meters, a breadth of 38 meters and a depth of 38.76 meters.

Compared to vessels using conventional heavy fuel oil, the Liberia-flagged newbuilding is anticipated to achieve ‘tremendous’ reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) and other emissions.

To be specific, owing to the fact the car carrier will run on LNG, it is projected to slash carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 25-30%, sulfur oxides (SOx) by nearly 100%, as well as nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 80-90% through the combined use of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system.

Moreover, according to Imabari Shipbuilding, as boil-off gas (BOG) is continuously generated due to the natural evaporation of liquefied natural gas during storage, the vessel is equipped to utilize this gas in its generators and boiler systems, thereby ‘improving’ its overall environmental performance.

In spite of the slight decline in both construction volume and order intake, Japanese shipbuilding players have had an active year so far, including Imabari.

Having begun the year with six handovers in one month, Imabari Shipbuilding delivered several more newbuildings from different segments by the end of June. Among these are compatriot shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line)’s LNG-powered car carrier Triton Highway, Denmark-based A.P. Møller – Maersk’s eco-friendly boxship Maersk Namsos, and Singapore-headquartered Ocean Network Express (ONE)’s future-proof container vessel ONE Sapphire.

In other company news, Imabari Shipbuilding recently entered a deal with JFE Steel Corporation and IHI Corporation to buy a portion of the shares of Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) that were previously owned by JFE and IHI. The parties said that the move was made to ‘strengthen’ collaboration, which they see as ‘critical’ in strengthening the Japanese vessel construction sector, particularly at a time of ‘high volatility’ in the global geopolitical arena.

View on Offshore-energy.