First LNG Carrier Equipped With X-DF Propulsion Engine And MRS-F Reliquefaction System Launched

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced that on July 31st, the LNG carrier, LNG Schneeweisschen, jointly ordered by MOL and Itochu Corporation (President: Yoshihisa Suzuki; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) was delivered at the Okpo shipyard by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) in South Korea. The ship has entered in to a Transportation Service contract for several voyages with Uniper Global Commodities SE (Headquarters: Düsseldorf), 100% owned by one of the largest European gas and electricity companies, Uniper SE (Headquarters: Düsseldorf; formed by the separation of E.ON’s fossil fuel assets into a separate company on 1st January 2016).

The LNG Schneeweisschen features two new technologies – the slow-speed two-stroke engine (X-DF) made by Winterthur Gas & Diesel, which can run on natural gas, MGO and Heavy Fuel Oil, and takes main engines efficiency to the next level; and the Methane Refrigeration System-Full Re-liquefaction (MRS-F) by DSME, which works with the high-efficiency X-DF engine to re-liquefy surplus boil-off gas and returning it as LNG to the cargo tank. Both X-DF and MRS-F technologies will make LNG transport more efficient and economical.

To further deepen and develop the relationship with Uniper, MOL continues to take a proactive approach in adopting cutting-edge ship technologies to provide safe, high-quality and reliable transport services and to meet increasing demand for LNG transportation, while leveraging our experience and know-how accumulated as one of the world’s largest owners and managers of LNG carriers.