NYK names VLGC Luna Pathfinder
The Luna Pathfinder was built at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Sakaide plant (Source: NYK)
The 86,920m3 very large gas carrier (VLGC) Luna Pathfinder has been named at Kawaski Heavy Industries’ Sakaide Works in Japan by NYK, one of the country’s largest shipowners. The vessel is the sixth in a series of dual-fuel VLGCs capable of transporting LPG and ammonia and operating on heavy fuel oil or liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
During the ceremony Astomos Energy’s vice president, Toshinobu Sato, officially named the vessel and his wife then performed the ribbon-cutting. NYK was represented by managing executive officer, Hironobu Watnabe.
Upon completion, the vessel will be chartered by NYK to Tokyo-based Astomos Energy Corporation, a company established in 2006 through the merger of the LPG divisions of Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsubishi Corporation.
When the vessel is in operation at sea, shaft generators will enable the ship’s auxiliary diesels to be shut down so that the vessel can run entirely on LPG. This reduces emissions of sulphur oxides by more than 95% and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by over 20% compared with running on heavy fuel oil.
