Under the agreement, Wärtsilä will provide a complete LNG package consisting of the Wärtsilä 31DF engine, gearbox, and LNGPac storage, supply, and control unit for two new ferries being built on behalf of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) subsidiary Ferry Sunflower.

The ships are being constructed at the Shimonoseki shipyard of Mitsubishi in Japan, and will be the first LNG-fuelled ferries to be constructed in Japan.

“MOL is dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of its business activities, and these two ferries are being built in line with that objective. By operating on LNG they will have a greatly reduced carbon footprint, and the high-performance Wärtsilä engine fits our requirements perfectly,” says Makoto Yamaguchi, General Manager, Technical Division, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.

The "Sunflower Kurenai" and "Sunflower Murasaki" are around 200 meters long and will be able to accommodate about 763 passengers, 136 trucks and 100 freight cars at a speed of 22.5 knots. They are expected to launch operations on the Osaka-Beppu route in 2023.

Maritime Business World