World's First: Japanese Firms to Looking to Build Sustainable Bulk Carriers for Copper Transport from Chile

November 9, 2023

Signing ceremony First from left, Masashi Suda, President, NBP Second from left, Koichi Kawamura, Director, OSHIMA Third from left, Norihiko Nonaka, Managing Executive Officer, SUMITOMO Fourth from left, Máximo Pacheco, Chairman of the Board, CODELCO - Credit: NYK Lines

Japan's NYK Line said Thursday its NYK Bulk & Project Carriers Ltd. (NBP), Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (OSHIMA), and Sumitomo Corporation (SUMITOMO) had signed a memorandum of understanding to study, design, and construct the world’s first Handymax bulk carrier (ammonia dual fuel type) dedicated to the transport of copper products, that will reduce CO2 emissions to zero.

The MoU signing comes just a year after Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO), a Chilean state-owned company and one of the world's leading copper producers, and NYK Bulk & Project Carriers Ltd. (NBP), an NYK Group company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Singapore to jointly study the decarbonized transportation of copper products.

NYK Line said Thursday this would be the first of a fleet of 10 to 15 vessels dedicated to the transport of copper products that NBP would operate from Chile to the Far East.

"CODELCO and NBP desire that the vessel will be developed and built by OSHIMA, which is willing to study this project together with CODELCO and NBP," NYK Line said.

A ceremony commemorating the signing was attended by Maximo Pacheco, chairman of the board at CODELCO; Carlos Alvarado, chief commercial officer at CODELCO; Fernando Landman, general manager of CODELCO Singapore; Masashi Suda, president of NBP; Mitsunori Yuasa, executive officer at NBP; Tatsuhiko Asami, general manager of NBP’s Bulk Carrier Group No.1; Raimundo Alegría, partner of Intermar Chile; Sebastián Valenzuela, partner of Intermar Chile; Koichi Kawamura, Director at OSHIMA; Yoshifumi Tani, Deputy General Manager of OSHIMA’s Ship Sales Department; Norihiko Nonaka, Managing Executive Officer at SUMITOMO; Takanaru Toyota, General Manager of SUMITOMO’s Ship & Marine Project Dept.; Ryo Miura, Director at Sumisho Marine Co., Ltd.

Máximo Pacheco, Chairman of the Board, CODELCO: “For me, it is a great honor to be here and to see how far we have progressed over this short period. What was an ambitious idea less than one year ago is a reality today. At CODELCO, we have the duty to be a leader for more sustainable mining for our country, and this project is a great signal to the other actors as we work to make Chile the first country in the world to demonstrate how an energy transition and GHG emissions reduction are possible.”

Masashi Suda, President, NBP: "Based on the memorandum of understanding signed with CODELCO on November 24, 2022, NBP has been studying the decarbonization of the oceangoing transportation of copper products with the cooperation of all concerned parties. After about a year of deliberations, NBP and CODELCO have concluded a memorandum of understanding with Oshima Shipbuilding for the research, design, and construction of a Handymax bulk carrier equipped with a dual-fuel engine that can use ammonia as fuel in addition to heavy oil. This is a concrete first step towards a decarbonized society for CODELCO and NBP. NBP will continue to contribute to global decarbonization together with its customers."