Mitsui : Order placed for methanol carrier equipped with environmentally friendly dual-fueled engine

Jipro Shipping S.A., joint investment from Mitsui & Co., Ltd ('Mitsui') and Iino Kaiun Kaisha., Ltd., has ordered a methanol carrier from South Korea-based Hyundai MIPO Dockyard Co., Ltd.

The ship will be chartered to Waterfront Shipping Company Limited(*1), a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based Methanex Corporation. The vessel is equipped with a dual-fueled engine which can use methanol, fuel oil, marine diesel oil or gas oil. By using methanol rather than conventional marine fuel, the vessel produces significantly fewer emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) than conventional vessels, Methanol is a promising alternative marine fuel that meets new and existing environmental regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that require vessels to decrease these emissions and also comply with the new SOx emission regulations to be introduced by the IMO on January 1, 2020(*2). Mitsui & Co. will continue its drive to carry out forward-thinking business methods that consider the environment.

(*1) Waterfront Shipping Company Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Methanex Corporation, which is the world's largest producer and distributor of methanol. Waterfront Shipping Company is a global marine transportation company specializing in the safe, responsible and reliable transport of bulk chemicals and clean petroleum products to major international markets in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America.
(*2) MARPOL Annex VI (prevention of air pollution from ships) established by The International Maritime Organization (IMO) asserts regulations for the sulfur content in fuel oil used by ships. As the rate of SOx in exhaust gas is dependent on the sulfur dioxide concentration included in fuel oil, regulations are gradually being strengthened around general sea areas and emission control areas, and from 2020 the regulations state that the maximum sulfur content of fuel oil used in the sea is to be reduced from the current 3.5% to 0.5%.