Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. reported that it is about to develop a practical technology to convert natural gas into a solid for low-cost maritime transportation. The planned natural gas hydrate (NGH) technology is expected to become practical in fiscal 2008, Mitsui Engineering said in a joint report with such concerns as Osaka University and the National Maritime Research Institute to an international study forum in Tokyo. Mitsui Engineering is also developing a special transport ship in time for the practical application of the NGH technology. NGH is an ice-like solid formed from a mixture of water and natural gas and is easy to handle due to low combustibility.