Shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines on Monday (1 November) said it has concluded a transition linked loan to finance one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessels ‘Gas Vitality’.
The bunkering vessel is owned by MOL’s wholly owned subsidiary Emerald Blue Maritime.
The loan is provided by Societe Generale and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The transition finance framework aims to MOL’s climate transition set forth in the “MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1”.
The loan has been structured in line with a transition finance framework and a sustainability-linked instrument that has acquired third-party certification by DNV Business Assurance Japan for compliance with all four criteria below.
The vessel ‘Gas Vitality‘ is the sister ship to the ‘Gas Agility‘, which was delivered in April 2020. The ‘Gas Vitality‘ was delivered at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China on 31 October, 2021 and chartered to TotalEnergies Marine Fuels.
As a cutting-edge LNG bunkering vessel equipped with the most advanced technology and environmental performance features, it plays an important role in promoting the spread of LNG-fueled vessels in the future.
In June of this year, the MOL Group established “MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1” as a guide to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050 and support a sustainable society. Since then, the group has moved forward with various initiatives.
One specific effort is to encourage the wider adoption of LNG as marine fuel by promoting the development of LNG fuel supply systems in Japan and around the world. It plans to launch about 90 LNG-fueled vessels by 2030 as a strategy to introduce clean alternative fuels.
[Outline of the vessel]
Ship name/Delivery date: ‘Gas Vitality‘ (October 31, 2021)
Shipyard: Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China
Ship registry/Class: France/Bureau Veritas (BV) (French shipping classification society)
LOA/Breadth/Draft: 135.9M/24.5M/16.0M
Deadweight tonnage: 8,780DWT
Cargo tank capacity: 18.600m3
Cargo tank system: Membrane GTT Mark III Flex
Related: TotalEnergies and MOL names France’s first LNG bunkering vessel “Gas Vitality”
Photo credit: TotalEnergies
Published: 2 November, 2021
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