A fifth liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel very large LPG and liquefied ammonia gas carrier (VLGC) vessel has been ordered by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) Line from Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). The vessel will be built at KHI’s Sakaide Works shipyard in Japan.

NYK’s latest order will be the fifth new type of vessel in the company’s fleet that can also carry ammonia. The vessel will be fitted with separate cargo tanks which can carry LPG and ammonia at the same time. This enables the vessel to respond to changing trade patterns. The overall tank capacity will be approximately 86,700m³.

In addition to having an LPG dual-fuel engine, the vessel will also be equipped with a shaft generator capable of generating electricity during operations by using the rotation of the shaft which connects the ship’s main engine to the propeller. During normal operations, the diesel generator can be stopped, enabling full use of LPG as a fuel apart from the use of a small amount of pilot fuel.

It is estimated that when LPG is used as fuel, exhaust gases from the VLGC will contain at least 95% less sulfur oxide (SO^x) and 20% less CO₂ compared to NYK’s conventional VLGCs using heavy-oil-fired engines.

NYK Line predicts the vessel will be given notations by ClassNK as a VLGC that has a preparatory design in accordance with the guidelines issued by ClassNK, enabling the vessel to use ammonia fuel in the future.

The 230-meter VLGC is scheduled for delivery in 2026 and will comply with both the SOx Global Cap regulations and also the International Maritime Organization’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 regulations.