MOL, Kansai Electric Power Sign Deals to Build, Charter LNG Carriers
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. signed a long-term contract for two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with Kansai Electric Power Inc. (President: Makoto Yagi). At the same time, MOL concluded contracts to build the ships Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (President: Satoshi Hasegawa) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (President: Hideaki Omiya). The ships are slated for launching in 2016 and 2017. MOL will manage and operate the vessels, with which transport LNG for Kansai Electric Power. The first vessel is a Moss-type carrier with a 164,700m3 cargo tank capacity, based on a new design from Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It will be the largest ship in its class that can pass through the expanded Panama Canal which is scheduled for completion in 2014…
First Solar-Power-Assisted Vessel in Development
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Yasumi Kudo), Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI; head office: Kobe-shi, Hyogo Prefecture; president: Satoshi Hasegawa), the Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Yutaka Yasunaga), and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; chairman and president: Noboru Ueda) are to begin in June shipboard tests to verify the effects of a jointly developed hybrid power supply system for vessels.
