ORIX Corporation (“ORIX”) has announced that it has ordered one bulk carrier from Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. through its consolidated subsidiary Santoku Senpaku Co., Ltd. and two Methanol Dual Fuel KAMSARMAX Bulk Carriers (“KAMSARMAX”), the newest environmentally friendly ships from TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING Co., Ltd. The bulk carrier for Oshima Shipbuilding will be constructed at its Koyagi Shipyard, while the KAMSARMAX for TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING will be constructed at TSUNEISHI GROUP (ZHOUSHAN) SHIPBUILDING INC. The ORIX Group has never placed an order for a ship that runs on methanol before.
The recently ordered bulk carrier KAMSARMAX is a dual fuel vessel that can run on heavy oil and methanol. In comparison to TSUNEISHI SHIPBUILDING’s conventional ships, the ship will release 15% less CO2 and about 95% less sulphur oxides, an atmospheric pollutant, due to its usage of methanol, the better hull form, and other considerations. Currently, methanol is produced using fossil fuels like natural gas. In the future, CO2 emissions during operation can be considered to be almost nil thanks to the usage of green methanol, which is produced from hydrogen obtained from renewable energy sources and CO2.
In 2023, the United Nations specialised agency, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), reaffirmed its goals for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to “reach net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by or around, i.e. close to, 2050.” The need for environmentally friendly ships is rising as more initiatives are put in place to reach this target, such as a new goal to raise the percentage of zero-emission fuels used in international shipping to 5–10% by 2030.
EEDI Phase 3, which will be applied to new vessels beginning in 2025 and is anticipated to reduce environmental effect, has been satisfied in advance for all three of the ships ordered this time around (30% reduction from the standard value).
In February 2024, ORIX purchased all of Santoku Senpaku’s issued shares. The newest environmentally friendly ships are the first that ORIX and Santoku Senpaku have ordered together since Santoku Senpaku became a member of the ORIX company.
ORIX and Santoku Senpaku seek to acquire experience in the operation management of ecologically friendly ships, particularly methanol-fueled ships, in order to broaden their asset management services for ships owned by third parties and help decarbonise the maritime industry as a whole.
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