NYK and Astomos Energy Christen New Dual-Fuel LPG Carrier

Mar. 14, 2024

First new joint ownership with Astomos Energy in 21 Years

On March 1, a naming ceremony was held at the Sakaide Works of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. for the first new LPG carrier jointly owned by NYK and Astomos Energy Corporation ("Astomos Energy") since the two companies shared ownership of Gas Capricorn from 2003. NYK seeks to further strengthen its long-standing relationship with Astomos Energy and contribute to the decarbonization of the supply chain by promoting environmentally friendly fleet development.

The vessel was christened “Gas Garnet” by Yoshihito Takahashi, senior executive officer of Astomos Energy, and the ceremonial rope was cut by his wife. NYK Managing Executive Officer Hironobu Watanabe attended the ceremony with others from NYK to welcome the ship and pray for safe voyages.

From the right
1^st: Kota Goto, Executive Officer, Managing Director Head of Corporate Banking Division No.10, MUFG Bank, Ltd.
2^nd: Hironobu Watanabe, Managing Executive Officer, NYK
3^rd: Yoshihito Takahashi, Senior Executive Officer, COO International Business Division, Astomos Energy Corporation
5^th: Toshinori Higashimura, Managing Executive Officer, COO Corporate Division, Astomos Energy Corporation
6^th: Motohiko Nishimura, Senior Managing Executive Officer, President Energy Solution & Marine Engineering Company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.

The vessel has a dual-fuel engine that uses heavy oil and LPG. In addition, the ship is equipped with a shaft generator that generates electricity by rotating the shaft connecting the main engine to the propeller, enabling the vessel to stop operating the diesel generator during standard navigation and realize full LPG-fueled navigation.* Compared to conventional heavy oil-fueled vessels, SOx (sulfur oxides) and CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the exhaust gas are reduced by more than 95% and 20%, respectively, when the ship is fueled by LPG.

Outline of Gas Garnet

Length overall: 229.90 m
Breadth: 37.20 m
Depth: 21.90m
Summer draft: 11.65m
Tank capacity: 86,953 m³

^* A small amount of heavy oil is used as pilot fuel for LPG fuel ignition.

On March 10, 2023, the NYK Group released its medium-term management plan “Sail Green, Drive Transformations 2026 - A Passion for Planetary Wellbeing. ” The NYK Group is promoting growth strategies with ESG at the core, based on the Group’s mission statement of “Bringing value to life” and a new corporate vision for 2030, which reads, “we go beyond the scope of a comprehensive global logistics enterprise to co-create value required for the future by advancing our core business and growing new ones.”

NYK has established “Sail GREEN” as the company’s brand to emphasize NYK’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions through the transport of goods and contribute to the eco-friendly supply chains of customers, regardless of the mode of transport (e.g., by sea or land, through terminals, etc.). Construction and delivery of Gas Garnet is an initiative of that brand.

※Click logo to obtain more

Related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Overview of Each Company

Astomos Energy Corporation
Headquarters: Tokyo
President: Mitsuru Yamanaka
Website: http://www.astomos.com/

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Headquarters: Tokyo
President & CEO: Yasuhiko Hashimoto
Website: https://global.kawasaki.com/en/